Auburn University’s men’s basketball team will conclude its regular season on Saturday with a game against No. 16 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The matchup offers Auburn an opportunity to even the season series and strengthen its case for an NCAA Tournament berth.
“They got one on us and us being able to go to their place and get this W is going to mean a lot,” sophomore Elyjah Freeman said. “That’s been our mindset all week. We’ve got to be able to not let their momentum build up and not let it control the game.”
Alabama enters the contest as the nation’s leading team in both scoring offense and three-point shooting, averaging 92 points per game and making 13 three-pointers per contest. Auburn coach Steven Pearl noted the challenge of defending against Alabama’s shooting ability.
“They shoot the ball at an incredibly high level,” Pearl said. “Every time teams break down on the defensive end they make you pay for it. They’re going to get shots up before they turn it over, usually, but we’ve got to do some things defensively to try to disrupt them. If we can create turnovers, we can get out in transition and run a little bit.”
The previous meeting between the teams took place on February 7 at Neville Arena, where Alabama won 96-92 after a strong second half.
“That’s the plan, to look at the things we did well, try and do more of those, and look at the things they made us pay for and try to not do those,” Pearl said.
Freeman recently returned to Auburn’s starting lineup, contributing significantly in Tuesday’s win over LSU with his defensive play and energy.
“I feel like I add a little bit more spark with the guys and helping them defensively,” Freeman said. “Trying to do everything in my power to help us win.”
Pearl added that the current starting lineup has performed well analytically on both ends of the floor, as demonstrated during the LSU game.
Auburn holds a record of 16-14 overall and 7-10 in conference play ahead of Saturday’s game against Alabama (22-8, 12-5). The game will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. CT from Coleman Coliseum on ESPN and via radio through the Auburn Sports Network.
“We need a great effort on Saturday to beat a really good team,” Pearl said.
Among individual performances this season, Tahaad Pettiford has averaged 19 points and 4.3 assists across three career games against Alabama, including a standout performance with 25 points earlier this year. Keyshawn Hall is close to breaking Auburn’s single-season free throw record; he needs two more made free throws to surpass John Mengelt’s mark set during the 1970-71 season. Hall ranks third nationally in free throws made this year.
Labaron Philon leads Alabama in scoring with an average of 21.5 points per game, placing him second among SEC players and twelfth nationally.
Auburn has played fifteen Quad 1 games this season—the second most in college basketball—matching totals posted by Alabama, Baylor, and Texas Tech.
