No. 24/25 Alabama Readies for No. 4/4 Auburn in Top-25 Rivalry Showdown Tuesday Night

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 24/25 Alabama begins a stretch where three of its next four games will be played at Coleman Coliseum, as it takes on rival No. 4/4 Auburn Tuesday night in front of a sold-out crowd. The game, which is the first of two contests played between the in-state foes (Alabama returns the trip on Feb. 1), will be televised on ESPN.

It is the first time in nearly 35 years that Alabama and Auburn will square off with both teams ranked in the AP Top 25. In the last occurrence, then-No. 13 Alabama defeated then No. 17 Auburn, 88-82, inside Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 22, 1987.

Tuesday's game will mark the 165th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the fourth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide owns a 98-66 edge in the series and a 44-9 mark when playing Auburn in Coleman Coliseum, including wins in 10 of the last 12 games played between the teams under the arched roof

The Crimson Tide is coming off a 92-86 setback at Missouri last Saturday, marking UA's third consecutive loss inside Mizzou Arena. Alabama allowed the Tigers to go on a 22-5 that turned a one-point 50-49 deficit into an 18-point Missouri lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. It was the Tide's first loss to a non-Quad 1 opponent (Quad 3) this season.

The Broadcast

Tuesday's game will be available on ESPN with Karl Ravech (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

The Crimson Tide comes into the game ranked No. 24 by the Associated Press and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll according to the most recent national rankings, which were revealed Monday afternoon
In addition to its national rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 1/10): No. 15 Sagarin, No. 17 KenPom.com, No. 18 ESPN.com BPI and No. 22 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Tide's "Best" NET wins include: Houston (No. 3), Gonzaga (No. 5), Tennessee (No. 11), Florida (No. 51), Oakland (No. 72) and Miami (No. 80)
The Crimson Tide is one of five SEC schools that are ranked in this week's AP poll, which is tied with the Big 12 and Big Ten for tops among all conferences. Joining Alabama from the SEC is Auburn (No. 4), LSU (No. 12), Kentucky (No. 18) and Tennessee (No. 22)
Alabama is the only team in the country to have three wins versus teams ranked in the top 15 of the NCAA NET rankings (No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 11 Tennessee)
The Crimson Tide is the only team in the nation to have not played a Quad 4 opponent this season. The Tide owns a record of 4-2 vs. Quad 1 teams, 3-1 vs. Quad 2 and 4-1 vs. Quad 3 foes
Graduate transfer Noah Gurley has stepped up his game in conference play. Across the Crimson Tide's three SEC contests, the Fayette, Ga., native is averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 21.0 minutes per contest, while shooting 72.7 percent (13-of-18) from the floor and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from beyond the arc
NET RANKING FACTS: Alabama is tied for second in the nation in Quad 1 wins (4) and combined Q1 and Q2 wins (7)... The Tide is the only team in the nation that owns three NCAA NET top-12 wins (No. 3 Houston, No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 11 Tennessee)... The Tide is the one team in the nation to have not played a Q4 opponent... Alabama boasts the No. 1 Average Opponent NET Rank in the nation
The Crimson Tide's current 17-game home winning streak, which began on Dec. 22, 2020 vs. East Tennessee State (won, 85-69), is tied for the sixth-most consecutive home wins in the nation. It is Alabama's longest home winning streak since claiming a school-record 24-straight home wins from March of 2010 to December of 2011
UP NEXT: The Crimson Tide will play its lone road game in the current four-game stretch when Alabama travels to take on Mississippi State on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network

About Alabama

Alabama is in its 109th season of basketball in 2021-22. The Tide's first season of hoops came in 1912-13. There was no season in 1943-44 due to World War II.
The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (16.3 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (15.5 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.2 ppg). The trio combines to account for 53 percent (44.0 of the 82.5 points per game average), 69 percent of the three-pointers made (100 of 144), 52 percent field goals made (233 of 450) and 48 percent of the total free throws made (94 of 193).
The Tide youth has also shined this season. A pair of freshmen have also made their mark through the early portion of the schedule in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako. Davison, a consensus five star and McDonald's All-American, is tied for the team lead in assists (4.3 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 8.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a force on the inside, collecting 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game. Meanwhile, sophomore Juwan Gary has also been a force, averaging 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
As a team, Alabama is averaging 82.5 points per contest, which leads the SEC and is 15th nationally, and is ranked No. 8 in the nation in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com (1/10). The Tide is outscoring the competition by an average of 8.5 points per game (82.5-74.0) and own a +4.5 (40.3-35.9) advantage on the boards. The Tide is averaging 9.6 threes made per game, while shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from beyond the arc and 68.7 percent from the charity stripe. UA also owns a for the year.
Defensively, the Crimson Tide is ranked 59th nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. For the year, Alabama is allowing opponents to average 74.0 points per game while limiting foes to 42.9 percent shooting from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Alabama was picked to finish second in the league in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Kentucky was the preseason favorite to win this year's regular season title, followed by the Tide, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn to round out the top five. Both Quinerly and Shackelford were named to the SEC Preseason First Team.
The Tide holds an all-time record of 1,728-1,071-1 (.616), which includes an 817-629 (.565) record in SEC play. By capturing its 800th SEC win, Alabama joined Kentucky as the only two teams in conference history to reach the milestone. UA also became the third team in the SEC and 34th team in NCAA history to reach 1,700 program

About Auburn

Auburn comes into Tuesday night's rivalry game at Alabama as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won 11 consecutive contests to improve to 14-1 overall and rise to No. 4/4 national rankings. The Tigers enter the game unbeaten in league play and sit atop the SEC standings, most recently earning an 85-73 home victory over Florida last Saturday to improve to 3-0.
The Tigers are led on the year by freshman star Jabari Smith, who tops the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), three-point field goal percentage (44.7 percent), field goals made (77) and attempted (173) and threes made (34) and attempted (76). Guards K.D. Johnson, who scored a game-high 23 points vs. Florida, and Wendell Green Jr. each average in double figures as well at 12.8 and 12.7 points per game, respectively.
Starting center Walker Kessler, a transfer from North Carolina, ranks second in the nation in blocks per game at 4.3, while also contributing 9.9 points and a team-leading 7.7 rebounds per contest. Meanwhile, preseason All-SEC first teamer Allen Flanigan returned to the lineup at the start of SEC play after sitting out the first 11 games with an injured Achilles.
Auburn enters the game ranked No. 18 in offensive efficiency and No. 7 in defensive efficiency, according to the most recent KenPom.com rankings (as of 1/9). The Tigers lead the nation in blocked shots per game at 8.1, led by Kessler's 4.3 bpg average.
Auburn's outscoring the competition by +15.7 points per game (80.6-64.9), which ranks third in the SEC and 18th nationally. AU also owns a +3.7 advantage on the glass (39.5-35.8). The Tigers rank second in the league behind Alabama in threes made (136) and third in threes attempted (385).
Auburn is shooting 45.4 percent from the floor, 33.2 percent from beyond the arc and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, Auburn allows an average of 76.9 points per game while opponents shoot 43.9 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from deep.
Bruce Pearl is in his eighth season at Auburn and owns a record of 150-93 (.617). Now in his 27th season as a collegiate coach, Pearl owns an overall mark of 612-238 (.720).

Alabama-Auburn Series Notes

Tuesday's game will mark the 165th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the fourth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide owns a 98-66 edge in the series, as the 98 victories also rank fourth-best against any foe in program history.
Last season, Alabama swept Auburn, winning 94-90 inside Auburn Arena on Jan. 9, 2021, followed by a 70-58 victory in Coleman Coliseum in the regular season home finale (March 2, 2021). It was the first time the Crimson Tide swept the Tigers in the regular season since achieving the feat during the 2014-15 campaign.
UA owns an all-time record of 44-9 when playing Auburn in Coleman Coliseum, including wins in 10 of the last 12 games played between the teams under the arched roof. The Tide is 51-9 when hosting the Tigers in Tuscaloosa.
The two teams have played in 12 overtimes in series history, with the last one coming in 2020 (Auburn won 95-91 on Feb. 12, 2020). Auburn has won nine of the 12 games that have went to extra time.
Four of the last nine meetings between the rivals were decided by single digits.
The series began during 1923-24 campaign.

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