In a state that has been dominated by success on the gridiron, the sport of basketball takes center stage across the country as Auburn, the SEC’s winningest program in the last five years, takes on No. 3 Alabama inside of Neville Arena, an environment that will be filled with fans that have camped out for days just to make it into the building.
“The Jungle and Neville Arena is as good as an environment as there is in college basketball,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “That's why they are here. What kind of a statement does it make about our program when we've been able to get College Gameday here on our campus three years in a row, only Duke's done that.”
Along with College Gameday, that will air the weekly college basketball pregame show from inside of Neville Arena, the annual AUTLIVE game is scheduled for this highly anticipated matchup. Auburn has won all seven previous AUTLIVE games, including the 2020 and 2022 editions that College Gameday was also present for.
“So it's great visibility for our program and your university. Great national recognition for AUTLIVE. And so I just hope that I don't eyeball anybody in the building on Saturday without an AUTLIVE shirt on. No excuses,” Pearl said.
As for the battle on the court, the Tigers have no short task against the mighty Tide. Alabama ranks No. 2 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings as of Feb. 9, while Auburn is at No. 32. They also lead all of Division 1 basketball with 44.9 rebounds per game and 31.9 defensive rebounds per game behind stars Brandon Miller, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, and Noah Clowney, 8.1 rebounds per game.
A trend to watch for in today’s clash could be the deep ball for the Crimson Tide. Alabama ranks third in the league in three point percentage at 35.3 and is fourth in major college basketball with 29.9 three point attempts per game. The Tigers on the other hand are fourth in division one basketball with an average opponent’s three point percentage of 27.2.
“We’ve lost four or our last five, but we have been right there,” said Johni Broome. “They were all winnable games. I feel like we are more hungry to just come out here and play together, play better, take care of the basketball more and just come out here and start winning.”
Johni Broome has record six straight double figure games, with three being double-doubles. Broome also ranks eighth in the country in blocks per game. Along with team leader Wendell Green Jr., both Broome and Green Jr.’s performances will be crucial to Auburn’s success in this showdown.
Junior floor general Green Jr. recorded a team high 20 points in 32 minutes of action against the Aggies. It was his fourth 20 point game of the season and 16th of his career. Auburn is 3-1 this season when Green Jr. scores 20 or more points and he has reached double figures in all but six of 24 games played this season.
"Our guys should feel good about a lot of things that they're doing,” Pearl said. “They're putting themselves in position to win. They know that this will be our greatest challenge and they know we have to have special."
That ’special’ performance is something the Tigers have searched for all season long. Auburn has fallen in four potential quad one road wins by a combined 14 points. Pearl’s squad has lost four out of their last five. And yet, could it all come together for the Tigers? Could the electric crowd, the College Gameday crew, and the matchup against their arch rival unleash “Chaos Auburn”?
Tipoff inside of Neville Arena is set for 1 p.m. CST on ESPN.
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Patrick is a sophomore from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
