Alabama Looks to Ride Momentum Heading into Tuesday Night’s Contest at No. 1/T1 Auburn

Tuesday, February 1

Auburn, Ala.

8 p.m. CT

Alabama

Auburn

Alabama Looks to Ride Momentum Heading into Tuesday Night’s Contest at No. 1/T1 Auburn

1/31/2022 1:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Crimson Tide and Tigers will tipoff at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will play the second of its current stretch of three consecutive top-5 ranked opponents when it travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on the No. 1/T1 Auburn Tigers Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN. It marks the second meeting this year between the rivals as the Tide fell to then-No. 4/4 Auburn, 81-77, Jan. 11 in Tuscaloosa.

This will be the 12th time Alabama takes on the nation's No. 1 team according to the Associated Press, holding a 4-7 record in those contests. The last time the Crimson Tide defeated the nation's top-ranked team came in a 70-67 win over Stanford in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament (3/20/04). Alabama's last regular season victory over a No. 1 team came on Jan. 8, 1994 in a 66-64 home victory over Arkansas. Finally, the Tide's only road win over a No. 1 team in program history came at UCLA on Jan. 28, 1982.

Coming off an 87-78 victory over then-No. 4 Baylor last Saturday afternoon in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Alabama improved to 3-0 against teams that played in last year's NCAA Final Four. The Tide also defeated then-No. 3 Gonzaga (91-82 in Seattle) and then-No. 14 Houston (83-82 in Tuscaloosa

The Broadcast

Tuesday's game will be available on ESPN with Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Jay Bilas (analyst) and Marty Smith (analyst) on the call
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) 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 remains just outside the top-25 rankings for Week 13. Alabama is first team left out in both the Associated Press (97 votes, No. 26) and Ferris Mowers USA Today Coaches Poll (39 votes, No. 26) Top 25 polls according to the most recent national rankings which were revealed Monday afternoon.
NET RANKING FACTS: Alabama has a NET Ranking of No. 22 in the nation as of 1/31 which is fifth-best in the SEC... UA leads the nation with three wins among the top-5 of the NCAA NET Rankings (No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Houston, No. 4 Baylor)... of the 10 games remaining on the regular-season slate, four are Q1 opponents and five are Q2 ... all five remaining Q1 games are against teams in the top 15 of the NCAA NET... UA is tied for second in the nation in Quad 1 wins (6)... Alabama is the only team in the nation to have not played a Quad 4 opponent.
The Crimson Tide owns a 5-1 record vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season, with all five victories coming against top-15 ranked squads. The five ranked wins is tied for most in the nation (Marquette), while the Tide leads the country in top-15 wins (5). Alabama defeated then-No. 3 Gonzaga (91-82 in Seattle), then-No. 14 Houston (83-82), then-No. 14 Tennessee (73-68), then-No. 13 LSU (70-67) and then-No. 4 Baylor (87-78).
According to the other metric rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 1/21): No. 18 KenPom.com, No. 19 ESPN.com BPI, No. 19 Sagarin and No. 22 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Tide's "Best" NET wins (Quad 1) include: Gonzaga (No. 1), Houston (No. 2), No. 4 Baylor, Tennessee (No. 12), LSU (No. 13) and at Florida (No. 45).
Alabama's last five losses have been by a combined 19 points. In fact, over the Crimson Tide's last 12 contests, eight have been decided by two possessions or less with UA owning a record of 3-5 in those contests.
Tuesday's game is the second of three consecutive contests against teams ranked in the Associated Press top-5. The stretch began with the home win over then-No. 4 (No. 4 NET) Baylor, followed by Tuesday's game against No. 1 Auburn (No. 6 NET). The Tide then returns home to host No. 5 Kentucky (No. 8 NET) Feb. 5.
The Tide is 7-0 on the season when holding the opposition to under 70 points in a game. The achievement has only been done twice in conference play against then-No. 14 Tennessee (73-68 on Dec. 29) and then-No. 13 LSU (70-67 on Jan. 19).
The Tide's schedule ranks No. 1 in the nation in every major rating system including: Average Opponent NET Ranking, KenPom.com, ESPN BPI, Sagarin Rankings and RealTimeRPI.
UP NEXT: Alabama will return home to take on No. 5/7 Kentucky on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. It will mark the first of two games between the Tide and Wildcats as UA will play the return game in Lexington, Ky., in two weeks (Feb. 19). That contest will be televised nationally on CBS with a noon CT (1 p.m. ET) tipoff.

About Alabama

The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (17.2 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.6 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.1 ppg). The trio combines to account for 54 percent (43.9 of the 81.4 points per game average), 70 percent of the three-pointers made (133 of 191 ), 52 percent field goals made (308 of 600) and 52 percent of the total free throws made (172 of 318).
The Tide youth has also shined this season. A pair of freshmen in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako have both been impressive during their rookie campaign. Davison, a consensus five star and McDonald's All-American, ranks second on the team in assists (4.1 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a strong inside presence, collecting 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and a team-leading 1.5 blocks a game. Meanwhile, sophomore Juwan Gary has also been impressive in his second year at UA, averaging 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
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 1,731-1,074-1 (.616), which includes an 819-632 (.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 wins. Only Kentucky and Arkansas have more wins than the Crimson Tide.

About Auburn

Auburn comes into Tuesday night's rivalry game as the hottest team in the nation, having won 17 consecutive contests following its 86-68 victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12/SEC Challenge to improve to 20-1 overall (8-0 SEC). As a result of owning the nation's longest winning streak, the Tigers have risen to No. 1 national rankings for the first time in school history (by the Associated Press). Auburn is also tied for No. 1 with Gonzaga in the coaches poll, No. 6 in KenPom and No. 6 in the NCAA NET rankings.
The Tigers are led on the year by freshman star Jabari Smith, who tops the team in scoring (15.6 ppg), three-point field goal percentage (40.4 percent), field goals made (109) and attempted (249) and threes made (44) and attempted (76). Guard K.D. Johnson is second on the team in scoring average at 13.2 ppg while leading the team with 2.1 steals per game. Freshman Wendell Green Jr. also averages double figures as well at 12.1 points per game and a team-best 5.0 assists per contest.
Starting center Walker Kessler, a transfer from North Carolina, ranks second in the nation in blocks per game at 4.1, while also contributing 11.3 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. 14 in offensive and No. 12 in defensive efficiency, according to the most recent KenPom.com rankings (as of 1/31). The Tigers lead the nation in blocked shots per game at 8.2, led by Kessler's 4.1 bpg average.
Auburn's outscoring the competition by +14.3 points per game (79.7-65.4), which ranks third in the SEC and 15th nationally. AU also owns a +4.0 advantage on the glass (39.0-35.0). The Tigers rank second in the league behind Alabama in threes made (173) and third in threes attempted (515).
Auburn is shooting 45.2 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and 73.5 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, Auburn allows an average of 65.4 points per game while opponents shoot 39.1 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from deep.
Bruce Pearl is in his eighth season at Auburn and owns a record of 156-93 (.637). Now in his 27th season as a collegiate coach, Pearl owns an overall mark of 618-238 (.722).

Alabama-Auburn Series Notes

Tuesday's game will mark the 166th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the fourth-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide is in search of win No. 100, as it owns a 99-66 lead in the all-time series. The 99 victories rank fourth-best against any foe in program history.
In the first game played between the two teams, then-No. 4/4 Auburn handed then-No. 24/25 Alabama its first home defeat in 17 games with an 81-77 victory three weeks ago (Jan. 11) inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama battled back from a 14-point deficit midway through the second half to tie the game late but Auburn connected on four consecutive free throws in the final seconds to result in the final margin.
The Tide had five players finish in double figures to lead a balanced scoring attack, led by Jahvon Quinerly's 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Auburn was led by freshman Jabari Smith's 25 points and four blocked shots, while freshman Wendell Green Jr. added 19 points, four assists and three steals off the bench. A box score from that contest can be found below.
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.
Last year's win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Tide in Auburn Arena. Prior to that, Alabama's last win on the Plains came on Feb. 17, 2015 when it upended the Tigers, 79-68. In all, Alabama owns a record of 27-33 when playing the Tigers on their home floor. Since Auburn Arena opened in 2010, Alabama has a record of 4-7.
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.
Five of the last 10 meetings between the rivals were decided by single digits.
The series began during 1923-24 campaign.

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