Alabama basketball’s second-half comeback came up just a bit short after Auburn was up as much as 14 and topped the Tide on the road in the first one-versus-two matchup in SEC history.
Alabama basketball moved to 10-2 in the SEC with a 94-85 loss over Auburn, which is the best atmosphere the Tide have played in at Coleman Coliseum all season. The Tide went on multiple 10-0 runs in the game, and the Tigers had a response for every run with big-time shots from the outside.
“I’ve never heard this place this loud,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.
This was the first game of Nate Oats’s era in which the Tide had never led at home all game.
Alabama had seven turnovers on the night with only eight.
The Tide had four scorers in double-digit scoring nights.
Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara picked up a flagrant late to foul out of the game, and the Tide could not capitalize on the momentum, going 1-2 from the line, then missing a shot to lead to free throws on the other end.
Alabama shot just 2-12 when it got the lead to three points or lower and could not continue its offensive run, whether it was missed shots at the rim or from the outside.
“Disappointing loss got to give Auburn a lot of credit. They are the number one team for a reason,” said Oats.
Takeaway #1: Six Auburn Players in double-figures
When Auburn is at its best, the team shares the ball and the wealth. Johni Broome, Baker-Mazara, Denver Jones, Chaney Johnson, Tahaad Pettiford, and Miles Kelly all had 13+ points.
Broome had led the charge and continues to be one of the Wooden Award front-runners with 19 points and 14 rebounds was able to get inside and hit big-time fadeaway shots when the team needed it to slow down a run.
Denver Jones was scorching hot from three in the second half, hitting three straight from a long distance to start the second half and get the Auburn fans to get loud in Coleman.
Takeaway #2: Alabama’s three-point woes
Alabama started the game 0-9 from behind the arc before Aden Holloway knocked one down. Despite not turning the ball over as much, Alabama just could not sustain an efficient offense.
After the 58% game from three in its last time-out versus Texas, the team shot just 5-26 from the outside, which is the worst the team has shot all season long.
The Tide cut a 13-point lead to three in 1:40 when it knocked down back-to-back threes but could not sustain the shot-making all night.
“They did a really good job running us off the three-point line,” said Chris Youngblood.
Despite the woes, Alabama could not finish around the rim. It finished 14-30 on layups and was 26-35 from the free-throw line.
“Not good,” said Oats on Mark Sears, going 2-6 in at the rim twos.
Takeaway #3: First 4 minutes and last 4 minutes of the half
Alabama fell behind 9-0 to start the game in the first four minutes. It dug itself a major hole and could not but kept digging out of it to cut the lead to two points in the last three minutes of the first half. The Tide then went on a 6-0 run to head to halftime down nine points. The Tide went on a three-plus-minute scoring drought to finish the half and could not ever get the lead or momentum.
“We talk about starts and closes to the halves a lot. We did an awful job, and they did a great job,” said Oats.
In the second half, the Tigers came out half up 14 by the first media timeout 5-0 run out of the gates and hit three straight threes from Jones. In the last three minutes, the Tide were trading buckets and had a chance to grab momentum in the last two minutes and go on a late surge to tie the game, but was denied with big-time silencer points from Broome and company who hit free throws late to seal the deal.
Next up for Alabama basketball (21-4, 10-2) at Missouri (19-6, 8-4) – Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. EST
Next up for Auburn basketball (23-2, 11-1) vs. Arkansas (15-10, 4-8) – Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. EST