After getting back in the win column against LSU, Auburn wraps up the regular season with arguably its most important game of the year as it faces No. 16 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday night.
Auburn sits at 16-14 (7-10 SEC) on the season and is currently on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble, according to most bracket experts on BracketMatrix.com.
Playing at Alabama, which sits at 22-8 (12-5 SEC), provides a Quad 1A opportunity for Auburn to not only improve its record but also strengthen the metrics the NCAA selection committee evaluates.
"They are obviously a really good team," head coach Steven Pearl said. "They came in here and beat us. We have to have a chip on our shoulder... and try and go in there and get a big win."
There are plenty of storylines heading into this game: Auburn fighting to make the tournament, Alabama pushing for a top-four seed in March Madness and conference tournament seeding implications, but the rivalry itself is the cherry on top.
In the first matchup between these two teams, Auburn came out of the gates swinging, dominating most of the first half and leading 36-26 with just over two minutes left before halftime. Auburn was locking down on defense, forcing Alabama into tough two-pointers, running them off the 3-point line and turning the Tide over nine times.
Everything changed after Auburn grabbed the 10-point lead. The Tigers proceeded to give up 70 points in the final 22 minutes of game time.
The defensive intensity from the first 18 minutes was gone, and the Tide took full control of the game midway through the second half, finishing with a 96-92 win.
Now this week, Alabama is coming off an entertaining 98-88 loss at Georgia, where both teams struggled to miss at times during the game.
The Tide have one of the best offenses in the country as they average 92.0 points per game, which is No. 1 in the country, and shoot over 36% from three. They also have five players averaging in double figures per game.
This elite offense is led by one of the best guards in the country and a potential lottery pick in the NBA draft in Labaron Philon. Philon is the engine to the Tide offense as he averages 21.5 points and 4.8 assists per game while shooting over 50% from the field and 39.4% from the three-point line.
The Tide have a plethora of other quality guards that can shoot and drive the ball including former Auburn transfer Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and potential NBA draft prospect Amari Allen. Each one of these guys averages over 11.5 points per game and shoots better than 37% from three.
The Tide have one true big man in Aiden Sherrell that they rely heavily on, especially after the Charles Bediako experiment ended. Sherrell averages 11.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
The Tide like to play fast as they always have under Nate Oats and look to punish mismatches on their high ball-screen pick and rolls.
Auburn needs to play with a chip on its shoulder as head coach Steven Pearl said because this matchup could determine if the Tigers make the NCAA Tournament. The Tide are a very difficult matchup, but Auburn has to defend the three-point line, which they have struggled to do in SEC play, allowing their opponents to shoot a league-best 37.3% from deep. The Auburn offense needs to shoot well from deep, relentlessly attack the rim and get to the line which could be where the game is decided.
The Iron Bowl of Basketball rematch in Coleman Coliseum tips off Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.
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