I’m doing something a little different with the newsletter today — combining some basketball preview with my thoughts on the latest news in football. Hopefully this format will work out, and it might be one I go back to in the future.

PF Jabari Smith (Auburn Athletics)

Three weeks ago, Auburn basketball took the floor for a midweek game against rival Alabama — a team that had beaten elite teams Gonzaga and Houston, plus a tough SEC opener against Tennessee, but was fresh off a perplexing loss at Missouri.

The first matchup at Coleman Coliseum proved that the Crimson Tide were capable of beating anyone. Alabama rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to tie the game in the final minutes before Auburn pulled out an 81-77 win on defensive stops and clutch free throws from Allen Flanigan.

After that game on Jan. 11, Alabama lost at Mississippi State, beat a strong LSU team at home and avenged its Missouri loss.

Then, last week, the most unpredictable team in the country had its most pola…