Alabama Goes To Auburn For A Huge Game
It’s the Iron Bowl of Basketball part two. And this time Alabama goes to Auburn for a huge game, this time both ranked in the top 25. This rivalry has turned into not just a big game in the state of Alabama, it is now a game with national implications. Alabama got the better of Auburn in the first meeting in what was a pretty sloppy game by both sides. Here’s what to expect for tonight’s matchup.
Auburn
Auburn Basketball is currently the 12th ranked team in the country with an 18-4 record. Despite being ranked higher than Alabama they are currently behind them in the SEC. Auburn is currently 7-2 in conference play. They went through a little bit of a rough patch but seem to have found their footing. Auburn dropped back to back road games to Alabama, 79-75, and to Miss St, 64-58.
They then had a get right game against a terrible Vanderbilt team and then had an impressive comeback in the second half to blow out Ole Miss. They are still being led in scoring by Johni Broome at 15.7 ppg. Just like Alabama, this Auburn team scores a lot of points, averaging 82.4 ppg. However, they get their points in different ways. They only shoot 33.6% from 3, so they are looking to get to the free throw where they are averaging 17 attempts a game.
Alabama
Alabama is coming in to tonight’s game on a 4 game win streak that has jumped them to #16 in the country. That streak started with their win at home over Auburn. During this streak they had their own impressive come from behind win over Georgia and most recently blew out Miss St by 32 points. The team’s 3 point percentage has taken a little bit of a hit over those last two games. They are now averaging 38.2% after shooting 8-23 against Georgia and 15-48 against Miss St. They really shot 48 3s in a game. Unreal.
Mark Sears has retaken the SEC Scoring lead averaging 20.1 ppg which is good for 27th in the country. Maybe the best news for Alabama is Grant Nelson has started playing very well. Late in the Auburn game he seemed to find his stride and even though he isn’t lighting up the scoring column, he has made a major impact in other areas. Alabama is still scoring a lot of points, 89.9 a game to be exact. That now leads the entire country by almost a full point. The issue is Alabama is allowing 75.2 ppg to their opponents vs Auburn who is allowing just 65.9.
The Game
This is a huge game. As I said it certainly has national implications, but it will immediately impact the SEC standings. Alabama will either remain in the lead or drop into a tie with Auburn and South Carolina. And as I mentioned in another post, that you can read here, Alabama can likely win the SEC if they win one of their 3 remaining games against ranked teams. Assuming they don’t drop any of the games they “should win”.
Auburn is coming into the game as a -5.5 point favorite and the total is set at 163.5. I will of course be taking Alabama with the points. But I do think Alabama can win this game. If they can shoot a decent percentage from 3, defend down low without fouling, and limit the turnovers, this game is winnable. Real hard hitting analysis there I know. It is going to be an incredibly tough environment, the folks in Auburn have been waiting for this rematch, literally.
If you are looking for a bet on the total, I would lean towards the under. I see this game being another chippy, hard fought game where points could be hard to come by. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being a high scoring affair, which is why I’ll probably stay away from the total. Alabama has won the last 3 in this series, and Nate Oats has had Bruce Pearl’s number. But Auburn is very good at home so I expect a very close game. It will be interesting to see if Noah Pringle, who has been suspended and now reinstated, will play to counter the Auburn size. I could not be more excited for the game and I will be live tweeting all of it, and I would certainly appreciate a follow over there and to hear your reactions. Enjoy the game and Roll Tide!