Wednesday night’s Iron Bowl of Basketball got off to a wacky start amidst an issue with the light system at Coleman Coliseum that caused a short delay after the game had already started and Auburn had taken a 3-0 lead.
After Alabama’s 79-75 win, both coaches had a little bit of fun talking about the lights fiasco.
"I gave Nate a hard time. I said look, if you guys want a new facility, just get a new facility. You don't have to turn the lights off." – Bruce Pearl on the lighting malfunction at Coleman Coliseum at the beginning of the game. pic.twitter.com/KdSkE7YR5L
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 25, 2024
Asked about whether or not the issues with the lights impacted the game at all, Bruce Pearl said it wasn’t a factor, but that he did have a little bit of fun with Nate Oats.
“I gave Nate a hard time. I said look, if you guys want a new facility, just get a new facility. You don’t have to turn the lights off,” Pearl joked.
Nate Oats threw a quip right back, slyly suggesting that Auburn should have requested to keep the lights off after Auburn shot 20% from the three-point line but made their first attempt with the lights still off:
Nate Oats on Auburn's shooting in the 79-75 win: @abc3340
"We were fortunate they didn't shoot it well. They shot it better with the lights off. Maybe they should've requested to keep the lights off" pic.twitter.com/JlxsdLc8eS
— Chris McCulley (@ChrisMcCulleyTV) January 25, 2024
“We were fortunate they didn’t shoot it well. They shot it better with the lights off. Maybe they should’ve requested to keep the lights off, but once we turned the lights on they didn’t shoot it as well,” Oats said.
Coleman Coliseum has been the subject of scrutiny as of late with plans for a new arena for Alabama basketball being repeatedly delayed over the last couple of years.
While Coleman has its issues, Auburn has only ever won ten times there, so perhaps there is some magic left in the Coliseum.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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