Alabama’s 100-97 win over the SEC-leading Aggies of Texas A&M this past Wednesday may not have been the biggest or most impressive of the 2025-26 campaign – that road win over Illinois is looking really nice right now – but it was arguably the most important victory thus far. Not only did it put the Tide within two games of the lead for the conference, but it was also a gut-check, ‘show me what you’re made of’ kind of win for a team that really needed to prove it could handle some adversity when it mattered most. The Aggies made all kinds of tough, low percentage shots – the kind that you have to make to win on the road – but Alabama never folded. The guys kept battling, fighting through every reach/grab/hold that A&M threw at them, and came from behind for the win.
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Speaking of important games, Alabama now makes the trek across the state for Auburn’s biggest game of every season – the Iron Bowl of Basketball (Sidenote: I’ve been writing for this site long enough to remember when folks hated calling it that; now it’s basically the go-to name for the rivalry). This year’s edition won’t be nearly as big as many of the recent battles between these two. Hell, the latest meeting was one of the best games in college basketball last year:
Mark Sears hitting that floater to ruin Senior Day, Auburn’s net-cutting ceremony, and Bruce Pearl’s final game in Neville Arena – all in one moment – will never not make me smile. Truly a legendary image.
Anyway, it’s a big game for the Tide because it’s the next one, and Alabama can’t drop many more if the Tide is serious about competing for a conference title. Of course, this is a Bama Basketball Breakdown in the year 2026, so I’m contractually obligated to mention Alabama’s injury report – Labaron Philon is officially a game-time decision now after apparently injuring his thigh this week. And of course, there’s the whole Charles Bediako situation. As of this writing, I’m expecting Chuck to be able to play, since the judge overseeing his case hadn’t made a ruling as of the end of the day Friday. I’ll be honest, I’m not expecting the verdict to be favorable to Bediako when it comes down – likely early next week.
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How to Watch
What: Alabama Crimson Tide (15-7, 5-4 SEC) at Auburn Tigers (14-8, 5-4 SEC)
Where: The Barn, Auburn, AL
When: 3:00 PM CST
TV: ESPN
Line: Auburn -2.5
Auburn’s been flying under the radar quite a bit this year, at least after some early beatings that had most around the country leaving the rebuilt Tigers for dead after their nepo-baby hiring of Bruce Pearl’s son, Stephen. But to his credit, the younger Pearl has somewhat righted the ship recently, as Auburn has won four of their last five, including a really impressive win in Gainesville. Tigers guard Keyshawn Hall may be the best player in the country that no one is talking about. He’s averaging 20.9 PPG on 47.7%/41.1%/85.9% splits, to go along with 7.2 RPG and 2.9 APG. He honestly should be in the discussion for SEC Player of the Year.
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It’s a good thing for Pearl that the UCF transfer has been so dynamic, because Tahaad Pettiford – the lone returning player from last year’s all-time Tiger team – has been a bit of a disappointment this year. His shooting numbers are straight-up bad (35.9%/26.2%/82.7%) and he’s turning the ball over nearly as much as he is assisting folks (19.2% AST% to 16.9% TO%). Combine that with his poor defense, and he’s gone from projected early second round pick last year to an afterthought this year.
The rest of Auburn’s team is full of transfers of varying levels of talent and production – the Tigers have some of the worst minutes continuity in the country. They do have a 21-year old “freshman”, Filip Jovic, from Bosnia who played professionally for ‘Mega Superbet’ the past two seasons. Why did I mention that? Oh, no reason.
Three Keys to Victory
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Defend without Fouling. Auburn’s offense is heavily Iso-driven. This team does not share the ball well (301st in the country in A/FGM). However, they are very good at getting past defenders in one-on-one situations and drawing contact in order to get to the free throw line. In fact, they are #2 in the entire country in doing so. Whoever is guarding Hall better be absolutely ready to go. He’s personally 28th in the country in individual Free Throw Rate. Guy has a deep bag of moves, so whether it’s Amari Allen, Latrell Wrightsell, TBB (if he plays), etc. his primary defender needs to be exhausting his energy on the defensive end of the court.
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Offensive Boards. The Tigers are one of those teams that utilize their athleticism and their desire to live in the paint as a springboard for being really good at offensive rebounding, where they rank 14th in the country. However, they don’t have much size or depth, so they also give up a ton of offensive boards (242nd in OREB% Allowed). Alabama hasn’t been great in either category, so the Tide needs to bring some real effort here today. Auburn can’t really shoot the ball very well (233rd in the country in 3P%), but they are truly an elite team at getting into the paint and – if they aren’t getting fouled – using their physicality to get extra possessions at the rim.
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Attack in Transition. As I mentioned, Auburn isn’t very deep. They only really play 7-8 guys any given game and their Bench Minutes are dead-last in the SEC. Alabama needs to run the Tigers all game if they can. Get out in transition and wear these dudes out. Auburn is already pretty poor defensively, but they turn into turnstiles when they get tired.
Neville Arena has become one of the tougher venues in all of college basketball over the last 7-8 years, but no one has told Nate Oats that. Alabama has won three of the last five games in Auburn. So, while the Tigers will certainly be amped up for their Super Bowl, the Tide has been in this spot before. Hopefully, Philon and Bediako will both be able to suit up for Alabama. I mentioned earlier this week that the schedule really eases up after this game, so a win here could be a springboard for a strong February.
