At Alabama, Auburn basketball just needs to finish what it started

Even though they've gone in opposite directions, these Tigers have shown they can play well against the Tide. They know what it's gonna take.

(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)

AUBURN — There will be 80 regulation minutes played in the Iron Bowl of Basketball this season.

The first 18 could not have gone any better for Auburn. Alabama trailed by 10 points, having shot just 11-25 (44%) from the field and 2-8 (25%) from 3-point range. Auburn had forced nine turnovers and held an elite offense to just 26 points.

But college basketball is played in sets of 40 minutes, and the remaining 22 played exactly one month ago turned what was a double-digit Auburn advantage into a four-point home loss to its most hated rival.

There are no victories, even moral ones, for playing better ball just some of the time.

When the two teams first met this season, they had identical SEC records. But the 96-92 result in Neville Arena would become the second of six straight losses for Auburn — and the second of eight straight wins for Alabama.

Now, Alabama has a double-bye locked up at the SEC Tournament and could be a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. Auburn will have to play on the first day in Nashville, and it’s currently projected to be on the outside looking in for the Big Dance.

However, there are (at least) 40 minutes still left to play in this rivalry series this season. Those remaining 40 minutes of the Iron Bowl of Basketball, if they can be played more like the first 18, could mean absolutely everything for this Auburn team.

“It means a lot,” wing Elyjah Freeman said Friday. “It's more so just getting back. They're up one on us. Being able to go to their place and get this dub is gonna mean a lot. That's been our mindset all week.”

After a February in which these two teams went in opposite directions, March started with a reversal of fortunes. Alabama saw its long winning streak come to an end with a 98-88 loss at Georgia. Auburn stopped the bleeding with an 88-74 win over LSU.

Those are just solo results, though. The greater bodies of work usually matter much more. Auburn will still be a sizable underdog Saturday night at Alabama, which will want the season sweep and the momentum going into postseason play.

But as long as there’s time still left on the clock, there’s still hope — hope for another huge road upset like Florida was, hope for a result that could get Auburn back into the NCAA Tournament field, hope for a spark to something that could be remembered.

“LSU game, they bounced back, played like they had something to play for,” head coach Steven Pearl said Friday. “That's what we've got to continue to do. … Obviously need a great effort on Saturday to beat a really good team.”

The focal point of that “great effort,” of course, is going to come on the defensive end of the floor for Auburn. The difference between the Tigers’ defense in wins and losses against high-major teams has been well-documented here. (You know the number.)

And there might not be a high-level team in college basketball that leans on its offense harder than Alabama. The Crimson Tide lead the country in scoring (92.0 PPG) and have the No. 3 attack in opponent-adjusted efficiency on KenPom. They’ve cleared the 90-point mark 19 times this season — four more than any other team. They also rank No. 65 in defense and face the second-most shots per game in the country.

It’s a hypermodern system under Nate Oats, and it works far more often than not. Alabama is 21-5 this season when scoring at least 80 points this season and 19-1 when that blistering offense shoots more free throws than its opponent. The Crimson Tide want to simply drown you in pure volume — especially from behind the 3-point line, where they average an eye-watering 35.8 attempts per game and enter this matchup with 11 straight games of double-digit 3-point makes.

“Obviously, they shoot the ball at an incredibly high level,” Pearl said. “They’re multiple, and they have a lot of guys that can just make plays. Every time teams break down on the defensive end, they make you pay for it. They just play pretty fearless out there on the offensive end with a lot of confidence, and it shows.”

We’ve talked about the magic 110.0 efficiency number for Auburn’s defense this season. You can almost say the same for Alabama’s offense: When the Crimson Tide are at 111.0 or below in a game, they are 1-5.

That’s all but three of their losses overall, and two of those other losses came when they were under 118.0 in offensive efficiency. When they’re over 120? Alabama is 17-1.

There are no secrets here.