The Alabama Crimson Tide earned their biggest win of the season by defeating the Auburn Tigers by a score of 79-75 in front of a raucous crowd in Tuscaloosa.
Things didn’t get started off great, with an issue with the lighting system at Coleman Coliseum causing a short delay in the start of the game after a Johni Broome three pointer for Auburn.
Eventually, things got going again and after a rough first few minutes, Alabama was able to get things going.
The Tide came out scorching in the first half, shooting 8 for 17 from the three-point line and sophomore guard Rylan Griffen electrifying the Coleman faithful and converting four of the eight himself.
https://twitter.com/AlabamaMBB/status/1750325044276764926
Alabama was able to build a 14-point lead by halftime after Auburn led 17-6 to begin the game, but the Tigers did anything but go away quietly.
Auburn went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and were eventually able to grab a 58-57 lead, but Alabama was able to pull right back ahead after a huge Mark Sears and-one:
SEARS 💪🏼
📺: @espn#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/kD0eixW0ok
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 25, 2024
Down the stretch, Grant Nelson, who had struggled for a lot of the game but hit some big free throws, made his biggest play yet in a Crimson Tide uniform with a huge put back slam to put Alabama up by five with less than one minute remaining:
https://twitter.com/AlabamaMBB/status/1750351843144708311
Alabama was able to secure the win from there, and overall got great performances from Mark Sears (22 points), Rylan Griffen (17 points), and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (14 points).
There is often no better Rammer Jammer than after beating Auburn in a close game, and the crowd at Coleman did not disappoint on Wednesday night:
https://twitter.com/Roger_Hoover/status/1750355564532482057
With the win, Alabama has temporarily taken over first place in the SEC, tied in records with Auburn at 5-1 with a 4-1 Tennessee to take the court in Nashville against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Alabama will face off against LSU at home on Saturday night once again at 7 P.M CST.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
