No. 1 Auburn set to clash with No. 7 Alabama on senior day

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers are looking to finish their regular season strong as they battle their No. 7 in-state rival Alabama inside of Neville Arena in what is anticipated to be a memorable matchup.

"As you guys know, we talk a lot about making history, and for this team, we have to win this last game if we are going to be the winningest team in the regular season in the history of Auburn basketball," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said.

The previous matchup in February saw the Tigers take down the Tide 94-85 in Tuscaloosa, AL in the famed No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Auburn’s 3-point shooting and defense were the key to victory as Alabama could not replicate the same production from beyond the arc.

"We played one of our best games in Tuscaloosa," Pearl said. "Obviously, Alabama's the No. 1 offensive team, as far as number of points scored, perhaps the best 3-point shooting team in college basketball, and one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country."

The Tide are coming off a disappointing senior night loss against No. 5 Florida 94-99 last Wednesday. Alabama was in striking distance in the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half, until the Gators were able to pull away for the win.

Even though the Tide’s superstar Mark Sears tailed up 30 points that night, he had a sad ending to his final game in Coleman Coliseum. He is going to have to be a leader physically and mentally if he wants to pull off the upset Saturday and make up for that night.

"Just a great player," Pearl said of Sears. "He's a great winner, one of the best competitors I've ever gone against. And obviously his ability to score tough 2s around the basket, his ability to make plays, his ability to shoot with unbelievable range. He gets to the foul line a lot, and you know, so obviously, he's just a great, great player."

Their guards, including potential 2025 NBA first round draft pick Labaron Philon and South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood, will have to shoot lights out like they have done for most of the season on Saturday. Bigs Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi will also have to control the paint and dominate on defense.

Former Auburn guard Aden Holloway will also return to the Jungle this Saturday as he will be pressured by that intimidating student section that was once on his side. He must continue to shoot the 3-ball well and prove the Jungle that he made the right choice.

"It is the most intimidating place to play. It is as loud and as hot as it gets anywhere. We could do without using bad language and and and being, you know, we need to get after our opponent, but, but there's a way to do it in such a way that's proper," Pearl said.

On the other side, the Tigers are coming off a loss as well against No. 22 Texas A&M in College Station, TX 72-83 last Tuesday. It was their worst loss of the season so far as they were dominated on the paint and had 13 turnovers, preventing them from a comeback.

It was hard for the Tigers to stay defensively strong without their starting point guard Denver Jones, as he had to sit out that game with a right ankle injury he suffered last Saturday against Kentucky.

"He moved around yesterday, and as you guys know, we'll practice this afternoon. My anticipation is that he'll be able to go through practice, and then let's see after practice how he reacts to the load," Pearl said of Jones.

It also didn’t help that their star center Johni Broome hasn’t been playing to their expectations in that game, scoring eight points and seven rebounds. He injured his left shoulder early in the first half but remained on the floor for most of the game.

Students started camping outside Neville Arena last Wednesday afternoon as they look forward for the Tigers to take down Alabama in an exciting senior day this Saturday. The game will tip off on Saturday, March 4 at 1:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.