{"id":571689,"date":"2026-01-30T23:09:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/571689\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T23:09:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:09:26","slug":"tennessee-basketballs-checker-food-city-center-game-is-this-saturday-against-auburn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/571689\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Basketball’s Checker Food City Center Game Is This Saturday Against Auburn"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"Tennessee<\/a>(Photo via Austin Perryman\/Tennessee Athletics)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nearly time for Tennessee Basketball\u2019s annual \u2018Checker FCC\u2019 game. In one of the great fan traditions around the country, Tennessee\u2019s fans will checker the Food City Center orange and white on Saturday night for the Vols\u2019 game against the Auburn Tigers.<\/p>\n

Fans attending the game are encouraged to check for their section\u2019s color online and then wear that corresponding color for the game on Saturday.<\/p>\n

To find out your color for the game, head to www.CheckerTN.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Students heading to the game are in the clear, though. UberEats is providing orange and white t-shirts for the students in attendance for Saturday night\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

hey @RockyTopRowdies<\/a>, @UberEats<\/a> has you covered\ud83e\udd1d pic.twitter.com\/QIeB1xE8EO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

More From RTI:\u00a0What Steven Pearl Said About Returning To Alma Mater Tennessee As Auburn Head Coach<\/a><\/p>\n

Tennessee (14-6, 4-3 SEC) will host Auburn (14-7, 5-3 SEC) on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET in the Food City Center. The Volunteers are a point favorite heading into the SEC contest.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think, again, Steven has done a really good job,\u201d Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said about Auburn on Friday. \u201cI think that they continue to get better all year, which that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for. And (they\u2019re) playing with confidence. And he does, again, a terrific job of getting his guys where he wants them to be. And they\u2019re doing a lot of really good things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steven Pearl, in his first year as head coach after taking the reins from his father, Bruce, is returning to a familiar location this weekend. Pearl played at Tennessee for four years from 2007 to 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to make it about me,\u201d Pearl said.<\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve been there before as an assistant, so I don\u2019t think the emotions will be much different. I played five years there and gave all my blood, sweat and tears to that university, and had a lot of great times and won a lot of games. There\u2019s so many things that happened at Tennessee that have shaped my life to what it is today, so I\u2019m eternally grateful. I would like a Letterman\u2019s jacket at some point, because I still haven\u2019t gotten that, but my years there were some of the best of my life personally, because it shaped the man I am today and a lot of things kind of fell in place for me to be where I\u2019m at, in this chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN Analytics<\/a> has Tennessee with a 69.6% chance to win the game, but the Tigers have been on a hot streak lately. Auburn has won four straight SEC games with victories over South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida, and Texas. Tennessee, meanwhile, has built up a little momentum itself. After starting SEC play 2-3 with two road losses, the Volunteers have rattled off two straight road wins with victories at Alabama and Georgia.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live coverage of the game on Saturday night in the checkered-out Food City Center.<\/p>\n

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