Alabama
16-7,8-2SEC
#12 Auburn
19-4,8-2SEC
No. 16/16 Men's Basketball Falls on the Road at No. 12/11 Auburn, 99-81
2/7/2024 10:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide drops its second SEC road contest this season
AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 16/16 Alabama men's basketball team dropped its second Southeastern Conference contest of the season, suffering a 99-81 road loss at No. 12/11 Auburn Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide (16-7, 8-2 SEC) was led by Mark Sears with 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Auburn (19-4, 8-2 SEC) dominated inside from start-to-finish, outscoring Alabama 40-26 inside the paint, and outrebounding the Tide 42-35 for the contest. The Tigers had four players score double figures led by Jaylin Williams' 26 points.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"It was a great game with a great environment. Auburn was ready to go, and we weren't. This was for first place, and they came out and played like it was for first place. We played like we would still be in first place if we won, which is disappointing. We could have separated ourselves a little bit and we didn't, so now, I'm guessing, we're at a four-way tie for the top spot so we have some work to do in these last eight games. Tonight, they were better than us. They played harder and outrebounded us. They were up on the glass for most of the night and they took advantage of our small lineup inside. They turned us over and we didn't turn them over. A lot of the effort stats that you look at; rebounds and turnovers they were better than us. So, we have to go back and we've got to play harder. They were definitely the better team and more prepared than we were tonight."
TEAM STATS
- Jaylin Williams (26 points) and Johni Broome (24 points) combined for 50 of Auburn's 99 points
- Mark Sears led Alabama in points (25), rebounds (9) and assists (4)
- A combined 61 fouls were called throughout the game (33 Alabama, 28 Auburn)
- Alabama committed 15 turnovers, which led to 22 points for the Tigers
- Auburn would finish the game with 50 free throw attempts, compared to 35 for Alabama, as the two teams combined for 85 free throw attempts to go along with the 61 fouls called
- Auburn's 26 fastbreak points is the most Alabama has allowed in a game this season
FIRST HALF
- The first 20 minutes featured six lead changes and five ties
- Auburn had two runs throughout the first half of 12-1
- The Tigers ended the half on a 16-2 run over the final 3:30 to take a 55-41 into the locker room
- Alabama committed nine turnovers, which led to 15 points for Auburn
- Jaylin Williams (17 points) and Johni Broome (14 points) combined for 31 of Auburn's 55 points
- Five players for Alabama scored six points or more led by Mark Sears' nine points while Aaron Estrada added eight
SECOND HALF
- Alabama would not get any closer that 12 points for the rest of the contest
- Auburn would lead by as many as 23 points (97-74) before settling for the 18-point victory
- Mark Sears scored a game-high 16 second half points
- Auburn shot 79 percent (27-34) from the free throw line in the second half
- The Tigers outscored the Tide 44-40
UP NEXT
- Alabama returns to action Saturday when it travels to face the LSU Tigers
- The game is slated for a 11 a.m. CT tipoff and will air live on ESPN
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
