Alabama and Auburn will meet up on the basketball court for the first time this season on Wednesday night at 6:30 P.M. CST in Tuscaloosa.
Entering the matchup, Alabama leads the all-time series 101-67, and historically, Auburn has not won often in Tuscaloosa with just nine all time. Alabama swept Auburn last season while the reverse occurred the season before.
All this being said, Auburn enters this one as the much better team, at least on paper. The Tigers entered the top-ten this week in the AP Poll after eleven straight wins in which every one of them has come by double digits.
For Alabama, the Tide is coming off an embarrassing beatdown in Knoxville where they were out-muscled, turned the ball over nonstop, and shot horrifically.
Alabama has struggled all season to match the physicality of teams with elite big play after the departure of Charles Bediako, and Auburn has depth at the position.
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Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams, and Dylan Cardwell give Bruce Pearl tons of options to go with, all that can and will hurt Alabama down low.
If Alabama is to end Auburn’s win streak and continue the struggles the Tigers have had in Coleman Coliseum, they will have to shoot better than the 19% from three that they put up against Tennessee.
The way the season has gone for Alabama, the Tide are often extremely dependent on Mark Sears for offense. Sears will have to have one of his best games of the season to give Alabama any chance.
Auburn remains the lone unbeaten team in the conference, and Wednesday night will be one of their toughest remaining tests.
Ultimately, it should be a great home court advantage for Alabama and the most intimidating environment Auburn has played in all season.
Time will tell if its enough for the Tide to end Auburn’s winning streak and get back on track in the SEC.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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