Auburn’s start to conference play has been nothing short of perfect. The Tigers have won 11 straight contests by 11 points or more, find themselves ranked inside the top 10 of the latest AP Top 25 poll and are all alone at the top of the SEC standings as the only squad left without a league loss.
But it will be a tall task for the No. 8 Tigers on Wednesday night in what has been a highly anticipated clash with Alabama inside of Coleman Coliseum – where the Tide have won 11 straight conference games.
“I would think, to this point, that — I've said it a few times as we've stepped up in play, this is the best team we've played so far,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Alabama on Tuesday afternoon.
Nate Oats has the Tide rolling on the offensive side of the floor again ranking at the top spot in KenPom and leading the league in overall scoring, averaging 81.8 points per game – which also ranks seventh nationally.
“They're one of the best offensive teams in the country, one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. Nate's always had a great offensive mind with his concepts,” Pearl said. “They're making over 11 threes a game. They shoot it over 45% at home. They've been really, really tough to beat at home.”
Mark Sears seems to be the spark plug that gets the offense in full throttle, leading the league in scoring with 19.8 points per game while shooting 53.3% from the field this season.
“He's a great player. We tried to recruit him out of Ohio. I probably should've recruited him harder out of high school,” Pearl said of Sears. “Great player. Can do it from two. Can do it from three. Incredible competitor. Unbelievable hard worker.”
But what makes Sears so special is what he’s able to do against the best, averaging 21.5 points per game against quad one opponents, ranking sixth in the country.
“But, we know the things we need to do. We know the things they do well. We've only played two road games in the league. We had a home-court advantage against Vanderbilt, and I didn't think we started particularly well against Arkansas,” Pearl said. “Our team is not road-tested. But we will be in the next two weeks.”
So what’s it going to take for the Tigers to slow down an Alabama team that can light up the scoreboard in a place Auburn has only won nine times in program history?
A ‘confident’ team effort – the backbone of the Tigers all season.
“I feel like everyone has their confidence right now,” said power forward Jaylin Williams. “Dylan (Cardwell) is playing his best basketball. Johni (Broome) is gonna be Johni regardless. He's gonna do what he do. Tre (Donaldson) has been patient, him and Aden (Holloway) don't turn the ball over that much. KD (Johnson) is in the right mindset, and he’s been one of the best defenders on the court. So just having all that together and everyone buying in off the court, it's gonna be a really special year for this team.”
Auburn has been at its best when the production can come from anywhere on the roster. Notably during the 11-game win streak, the bench or “second wave” has been critical to the Tigers' continued success down the stretch of games, averaging 37.7 points per game – the third best rate in the country.
This unselfish style of basketball has been contiguous throughout the team with Pearl’s squad ranking No. 10 nationally and first in the SEC averaging 18.47 assists per game. The Tigers also are second in the league and No. 6 in the country with a 1.84 assist-to-turnover ratio – recording at least 18 assists in 12 games this season.
Auburn is just one of three NCAA Division I teams with at least 14 games with 16 or more assists this season, but the big question for Pearl is whether or not his teams’ culture will stay intact in difficult moments in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Wednesday night.
“Well, it's wonderful. But I'll caution you and remind you that it's easier to be brothers when you're 16-2 or whatever we are," Pearl said. "Adversity can build character, but it will reveal it. So we will have some character revealed, and what you need to do is, when that happens, then you need to really rely on that.”
These two programs matching up in a national showdown is becoming quite the norm in the state of Alabama. Since the 2017-18 season, the rivals have combined for four regular season and three tournament conference championships. And it’s only fitting that the winner of this year’s first duel will have an immediate upper hand in the 18-game conference title race.
The latest edition of Auburn and Alabama on the hardwood will tip off from inside Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. CST with national television coverage 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.
