One of the greatest rivalries in all of college sports is set to make its way to Neville Arena this Saturday as first-year head coach Steven Pearl and the Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team take on the Alabama Crimson Tide for the first of two matchups this season.
In recent years, this rivalry has produced some incredible moments, including buzzer-beaters, overtime thrillers, and historic scoring performances.
The Iron Bowl on hardwood has been extremely competitive over the past decade. Since 2016, the series has been nearly split, with the Tigers holding a slight edge at 11 wins to Bama’s 10.
The storylines for this season’s matchups could also make this rivalry especially memorable.
Not only are both teams fighting for higher seeding in March Madness, but this game also features the top two leading scorers in the SEC facing off: Labaron Philon (21.4 PPG) of Alabama and Keyshawn Hall (20.9 PPG) of Auburn.
Philon was a longtime Auburn commit before flipping to Alabama late in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Alabama’s other top scorer, Aden Holloway (17.2 PPG), was famously one of the Tigers’ highest-rated basketball recruits ever before transferring to the rival Crimson Tide after his freshman season.
Both Philon and Holloway have been exceptionally efficient scorers for the Tide all season. In addition to being the only SEC duo to both rank in the top ten in the conference in points per game, Philon’s field-goal percentage of 51.1% and Holloway’s three-point percentage of 43.8% both rank as the fourth-best marks in the SEC.
Alabama’s interior defense could also prove to be an issue for an Auburn team that is considerably undersized.
Alabama has the second-most blocked shots in the SEC this season, and sophomore Aiden Sherrell averages 2.4 blocks per game, currently the second-highest mark in the conference, trailing only Somto Cyril from Georgia.
Even with Alabama’s impressive defensive statistics, its overall scoring defense has been noticeably shaky.
Under head coach Nate Oats, Alabama basketball has prioritized a fast-paced, three-point-heavy offense in recent seasons. While this approach has led to explosive offensive output, it has also left the Tide vulnerable on defense at times. Alabama’s 83.0 points allowed per game is the highest in the SEC, by nearly five points.
The most pivotal factor for the Tigers will be whether they can continue to get to the free-throw line.
Auburn has excelled at putting pressure on opposing defenses this season and ranks second in the nation in fouls drawn per game.
Against an Alabama team that leads the SEC in team fouls per game, Auburn could see a significant portion of its scoring come from the charity stripe.
This is arguably one of the most important games for the Tigers in SEC play.
If Auburn secures the win, it is likely to return to the national top 25. Beyond that, a victory over a major rival could be exactly what the Tigers need to build momentum heading into March.
Be sure to catch the Tigers in Neville Arena this Saturday as they look to take down unranked rival Alabama and secure at least a split in the season series against the Tide!
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
