Auburn beats Alabama in the SEC's first #1 versus #2 matchup

February 15, 2025 - TUCALOOSA, AL – The Auburn men's basketball team went into Tuscaloosa and came back with a 94 to 85 win – in a game that was watched across the state and indeed across the entire nation.

This was the first time in history that the SEC had the number one and number two teams in the AP/Coaches poll meet.

Auburn is coached by Bruce Pearl – the winningest coach in the program.

"All eyes of college basketball were on the state of Alabama and the SEC," said Coach Pearl. "I'm a big fan of making history and I know that 1-2s are rare. We've got two road wins in the 1-2 matchup that I will cherish."

Senior forward/center Johni Broome has been a human highlight reel all season for the Tigers and he did not disappoint on Saturday. Broome had 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists in the win. Senior point guard Denver Jones was the SEC player of the week. He scored 16 points in this game and defended the Tide's Mark Sears. Senior guard Miles Kelly had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Chad Baker-Mazara each added 15, Chaney Johnson scored 14 points, collected 5 rebounds, and three assists. Freshman Guard Tahaad Pettiford scored 13 points.

"I'm happy because we had such great balance," Pearl said.

The game was very close for most of the first half but Auburn went on a 7-0 run to close out the half with a 42 to 33 lead at the half. Auburn came out strong to start the second half to stretch the lead out to 14 points; and the Alabama came roaring back with 10-0 run. With just seven and a half minutes left the game was tied; but Auburn would not be denied down the stretch.

Senior Guard Mark Sears led the Tide with 18 points. Senior Center Grant Nelson contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds. Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway both came off the bench to each contribute 10 points for the Tide.

Alabama is coached by Nate Oats.

"We've got to play hard when shots aren't dropping," Oats said after the loss. "Too much ISO...Too many bad shots."

Auburn's defense affected the Tide's ball movement. The Tide had only 2 assists in the entire first half, and just eight in the game.

"The ball just wasn't moving for the entire team," Oats said

The win improves Auburn to 23 and 2 on the season and 11 and 2 in the conference. Auburn returns as number one in this year's AP/Coaches poll. Alabama on the other hand dropped to number four after the loss - behind Florida and Duke.

The Tide will meet Auburn again in the regular season. If all goes well for both teams Auburn could face Alabama four times this year (including the SEC championship game and the final four.)

Auburn plays Arkansas on Wednesday at Auburn.