With an active 11-game winning streak, No. 4 Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 24 Alabama in this season's first edition of the Iron Bowl of basketball on Tuesday.
The Crimson Tide, who went on an impressive Elite Eight run in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, swept the series versus Auburn last season. Alabama leads the overall series 97-59.
Under Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, the series versus Alabama has been extremely competitive. Pearl is 7-8 against the Tide. Auburn swept the series in the 2016-17 and the 2018-19 seasons.
On Saturday, Auburn improved to 14-1 after its 85-73 victory over Florida to put itself atop the SEC at 3-0 in conference play. Auburn also jumped from No. 9 to No. 4 in the latest AP Poll, which came out on Monday morning.
While the big men have been at the center of the hype this season for Auburn, the guards led the way against Florida.
Sophomore transfer from Georgia K.D. Johnson, stole the show with a 23-point performance versus Florida. Johnson’s aggressiveness payed off in the contest as the guard, who ranks third in the SEC with 2.2 steals per game, swiped three steals from the Gators.
Another transfer guard came up big in the game for the Tigers as Wendell Green Jr. paired with Johnson to shoot a combined 5-10 from 3-point land.
Green ignited the team off the bench, as he racked up 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal. He has been Auburn’s secret weapon this season.
The 5-foot-11 guard from Detroit has seven consecutive games where he has scored in double figures. With 22 points, he led the team in scoring against South Carolina and averages 12.7 points a contest.
The Tigers look to continue to build on the strong play from their guards against some of the best perimeter players in the SEC.
All three of Alabama’s starting guards average double figures in scoring, and one of the Alabama guards leads the team in each of the three major stat categories.
Jaden Shackelford leads Alabama in scoring with 16.3 points per game, senior Keon Ellis leads in rebounds with 6.2 per contest and junior Jahvon Quinerly leads in assists with 2.7 a game.
Just when those three seem like a lot to handle, Alabama adds freshman phenom JD Davidson into the mix off the bench, earning high praise from Pearl.
“Arguably the best combination of four guards on one team,” Peal said.
Alabama is entering the game coming off a 92-86 loss to 7-7 Missouri and fell to 11-4 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.
“[Alabama] shoots the three ball [well.] They get to the rim," Pearl said. "They get to the foul line. They play hard defensively. They’re hard to guard, and they make great adjustments. Really great team and a really great system."
The Tide have shown inconsistency, and they seem to play to the level of their competition. Although, they have also shown they can play with some of the best teams in the nation.
“Keep this in mind, Alabama has the toughest strength of schedule of anybody in the country. Alabama owns two of the toughest wins in college basketball, in beating Gonzaga and Houston,” Pearl said.
Alabama boosted itself into the Top 10 after impressive wins over then No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 12 Houston before getting beaten by Memphis 92-78, barely surviving an upset from Jacksonville State and falling to Davidson at home.
Alabama rebounded in an impressive SEC win over No. 18 Tennessee and then went on the road and bested Florida by 13. The Tide once again looked impressive and established themselves as one of the top teams in the conference.
Just when it seemed like the Tide was rolling, Missouri crashed their party. Missouri averages a league-worst 68.4 points per game, but still managed to outslug Alabama with 92.
As for Auburn, the two teams compare similarly in scoring. Alabama ranks second in the SEC with 82.5 points per game and Auburn follows them with 80.6 points a game.
Defensively on the other hand, the Tigers hold the advantage.
Auburn holds opponents to 64.9 points a game and forces 16.5 turnovers a game, while Alabama allows an average of 74 points per game and forces just 12.9 turnovers a game.
“They do a great job on ball screen defense. They impact you,” Pearl said. “They’re known for their offense because of how dangerous they are from three and at the rim, but they can also defend as well.”
The Crimson Tide are led by the SEC’s fourth-leading scorer in Shackelford. Shackelford has tallied 16.3 points per match this season. He put up big numbers versus Auburn last season as he combined for 51 points and 11 rebounds in the two matchups.
“Shackelford might be the best shooter in the league, and he can make tough shots… He can make plays at all levels,” Pearl said.
Alabama jacks up the three ball at a rapid pace. It shoots just over 29 threes a game, which is the 13th-most in the nation and the most in the SEC.
The Crimson Tide have converted on 144 of those 440 3-pointers this season, which puts them at sixth in the conference in 3-point percentage at 32.7%.
The Tigers, who have been bullies inside and lead the nation in blocks with 119, must prioritize perimeter defense to prepare for the trigger-happy Nate Oats offense.
In the rebounding category, both teams are top-five in the conference. Alabama hauls in an average of 40.3 rebounds in each outing, opposed to Auburn's 39.5 average.
“We’ve got to do a good job of rebounding the basketball, taking care of the basketball and getting back in transition because Alabama gets that ball down the floor, make or miss, as well as anybody in our league,” Pearl said. “They do a great job of playing fast.”
Auburn’s challenge is to limit Alabama, a team with 13.1 offensive rebounds a game, in second chance points. If the Tigers can force tough, ill-advised outside shots from the Tide and secure rebounds, this matchup should favor the Tigers.
“Florida gave up 20 offensive rebounds to Alabama, and Alabama had a great second half comeback at Florida. Great win. One of the best wins in the league so far,” said Pearl. “They may not possess every 50-50 ball, but they keep the ball alive.”
The first of the two battles between the Tide and Tigers this season tips off at 8 p.m. CST on Tuesday night from Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.
“It’ll absolutely be our greatest challenge so far,” Pearl said.
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