The No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide is getting set to host the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers in Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon in what looks like it could be the biggest matchups between the two in each program’s history.

In terms of regular season games, it doesn’t get higher stakes than this.

With both teams having historic seasons and leading the SEC which is having a historic season of its own as a whole in the entirety of the conference, the first of two meetings between the Tide and Tigers may be the most anticipated non-postseason game in the history of basketball in this state.

College GameDay is coming to town and the students in Tuscaloosa will get the chance to be loud early and often, making for a full day of festivities and the kind of buzz in the air which doesn’t appear normally in this area of the country unless it’s a Saturday in the fall.

So, who comes out on top in this epic clash of basketball gladiators?

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the initial Vegas line favored the Crimson Tide by roughly a point due to home court advantage, but this margin is thin enough to say nobody is favored.

Throughout the season as a whole, Auburn has had the better team. Before last weekend’s home loss to Florida, the Tigers were ripping their way through the best conference in the sport and potentially the best conference college hoops has ever seen. Their only loss was a close road thriller at one of the best teams in the nation in Duke.

The Gators – who are an incredibly formidable bunch themselves and may very well be the best of the three – exposed Auburn as at least not quite indestructible as they’ve seemed throughout the year led by a National Player of the Year type season from Johni Broome.

For Alabama, it was a bit of a work in progress to get where they are. The Tide dropped an early conference game at home to an Ole Miss team that while talented, is not someone you can afford to lose to in your own building. But instead of rolling over, Alabama went out the next game – led by massive performances from Mark Sears and Grant Nelson – and earned a road victory in Lexington over Kentucky.

From there, the Tide has rolled.

With recent huge victories over Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi State, Alabama has found their footing and looks ready for the immense challenge that Auburn brings.

The reality surrounding college basketball is that no matter who wins, both teams are virtually guaranteed to have a high seed in the NCAA Tournament and have the chance to avenge things in the postseason. Nate Oats and Bruce Pearl have established two of the premiere basketball programs in the country, and this rivalry is only going to become more heated.

Saturday will just be the latest chapter in an epic book Oats and Pearl along with their teams are writing.

Time will tell who comes out on top.