Alabama
23-8,13-5SEC
Auburn
16-15,7-11SEC
No. 16/16 Alabama Defeats Auburn 96-84 to Sweep Season Series
3/7/2026 11:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
This marks Nate Oats’ third sweep over the Tigers during his tenure
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 16/16 Alabama men's basketball closed out its regular season schedule by defeating rival Auburn, 96-84, inside Coleman Coliseum Saturday on Senior Night. With the win, the Crimson Tide sweeps the season series with the Tigers and finish the regular season at 23-8 overall and 13-5 in the SEC.
As a result, Alabama finished second in the conference and earned the No. 2 seed in next week's SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.Â
The Crimson Tide (23-8, 13-5 SEC) was led by the tandem of guards Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway, who each scored 21 points. Amari Allen (16), London Jemison (11) and Aiden Sherrell (10) also contributed with double-figure outings on the night.Â
Auburn (16-15, 7-11 SEC) was led by Kevin Overton's 24 points on a career-high nine made field goals to go along with five rebounds.Â
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"A lot of positives to come from this game. We have the best student section in the SEC, and I really appreciate what they've given us all year. It's great to get a win on senior night. The three we celebrated are some of the best seniors as far as culture-wise. I am very disappointed Houston Mallette didn't get to score on senior night. He doesn't really care, and to me, that's why he's so great. He just cared that we won and that he ended up winning the hard hat. (Latrell) Wrightsell has come on great, and he didn't score it as well as he has been tonight. Noah (Williamson) has been great with his attitude and with everything we need from him, so those three guys to get a win on senior night, I couldn't be happier for them.
"I think we did a great job in the first 25 minutes, building up a 25-point lead. We haven't done a great job closing out games when we have leads, and I told guys that after the game. We fouled them too much and took bad shots and guys started hunting for their own points, so I'm a little disappointed with how we closed the game. We had the right mentality in the first half and the defense has been great lately. We've forced double-digit turnovers in four of the last five games, which has been an emphasis for us lately.Â
"They tried to take away the three-point line tonight. We have had double-digit three-pointers in 11 straight games and we didn't get that tonight, but we scored 58 points in the paint. That is fine with me because we try to play the most efficient basketball we can. If we made some free throws, we would've scored 100 on them, but we still scored 75 points in the paint and at the line combined. We also did a pretty good job on the offensive boards, if you look at second chance points and points off turnovers, which we just lost in a drastic fashion to Georgia we were plus-23 in those departments combined."
Team StatsÂ
- The Crimson Tide led for a total of 39:12 of the game, not allowing Auburn to hold the lead for a secondÂ
- UA outrebounded Auburn 42-28, including a season-high seven boards grabbed by Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
- The win marked the Tide's ninth victory over its last 10 games to close out the regular season
- Philon surpassed 1,000 career points at the 17:30 mark in the first half, becoming the fourth-fastest UA player to reach that mark (66 games)
- Alabama forced 13-plus turnovers for the second straight game and has forced double-digit turnovers in four of its last five outings
- UA grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, its most in SEC play and the second-most the team has grabbed this season (21 against Yale on Dec. 29)
- Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon each scored 20 points, the third time this season the duo has done so and the first time since South Florida on Dec. 17
- Alabama's 12-point win is its first double-digit win over its rival since the 2020-21 season and the Tide's sixth win in the past eight contests vs. Auburn
First Half Â
- Alabama started the game on an 8-0 run to gain an early six-point advantage, 13-7, with 15:43 remaining in the first halfÂ
- With 11 early points from Labaron Philon Jr., the Tide opened its first double-digit lead at 21-11 with 11:43 left in the first quarter
- AÂ 12-0 Alabama run from 8:08-5:18 (2:50) increased the lead to 41-21 at the 5:18 mark
- The Crimson Tide went into the half with a 19-point lead of the Tigers, 50-31, which was Auburn's biggest halftime deficit in conference play
- Philon led UA at the half with 16 points and three dimes, going 7-of-11 from the field
- Alabama forced nine Auburn turnovers in the first half, scoring 13 points off of themÂ
- The Tide grabbed 10 offensive boards in the first stanza, cashing in on 15 points on the second chances
Second Half Â
- An Alabama 15-5 run from 18:56-16:07 (2:29) paved the way for the Tide to take its biggest lead of the game, 67-39, with 14:55 remaining in the gameÂ
- The Tigers responded with a 16-4 run that spanned just over five minutes to help Auburn get back into the game with the score being 71-55 with 9:40 left to play
- The Tide brought its lead back to 20-plus points when it answered with an 8-2 run that lasted just over two minutes, making the score 79-57 with 7:15 remaining
- UA maintained control of the game control of the game, leading 87-71 with 2:47 left in the game
- Alabama doubled the Tigers' scoring in the paint, 28-14, in the second halfÂ
Up Next
- The Tide heads to Nashville to compete in the 2026 SEC Men's Basketball TournamentÂ
- Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT Friday, March 13 at Bridgestone Arena and can be seen on The SEC Network
