TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The most anticipated Iron Bowl of Basketball in the history of the series did not disappoint. No. 1 Auburn (23-2, 11-1) defeated No. 2 Alabama (21-4, 10-2) 94-85 Saturday inside Coleman Coliseum. Auburn jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start and never trailed in the game.
“I thought that we played loose early,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We made shots, we got a bit of a lead. Obviously, that’s the second time, back to back where we’ve been up where we hit them in the mouth early and played well.”
Auburn came out of the gates hot. Senior guard Miles Kelly knocked down a three on Auburn’s first possession of the game and star forward Johni Broome followed it up with back-to-back threes to set the tone. Alabama battled and kept the game tight throughout the half, but the Tigers ended the half on a 7-0 run to hold a nine-point lead the half.
Similar to the start of the game, Auburn started the second half on fire from three. Senior guard Denver Jones knocked down three threes in the first four minutes of the second half, and Auburn extended its lead to 14, its largest lead of the game.
As expected, Alabama responded. After two threes from Alabama guard Mark Sears and a dunk from forward Grant Nelson, Alabama tied the game at 65 with less than eight minutes.
“Alabama came storming back,” Pearl said. “Our guys didn’t panic. I thought we had some fatigue on the defensive end for a few possessions, but overall we sucked it up.”
Auburn would regain the lead near the minute mark, however, and never look back. Tahaad Pettiford was crucial to Auburn’s offensive success in the second half, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara each added double-digits as well.
Johni Broome scored seven points in the second half and finished the game with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. Auburn scored 52 points in the second half and shot nearly 60% from the field.
As good as Auburn’s offense was on Saturday, the Tigers knew that their defense would need to play at a high level to defeat the Tide. A major key to Auburn’s success was holding Alabama to just 5-26 from beyond the arc and 39 percent from the field. Alabama’s best offense came at the free-throw line, where the Tide went 26-35.
In perhaps the biggest game in the history of the Iron Bowl of Basketball, Auburn went into Tuscaloosa and took down the Crimson Tide. The win solidified Auburn as the top team in the country and gave Auburn a slight cushion in the SEC standings with six games left to play. Auburn, however, knows there is still plenty of basketball yet to be played.
“I want those guys to go out and celebrate a little bit, but I want them to only go out for an hour or two,” Pearl said. I think we need to be home tonight. We need to be off our feet.”
For now, Auburn coaches, players, and fans alike will enjoy the win over their arch-rival in a historic matchup.
“You do not forget a one-two matchup,” Pearl said.
Next up, Auburn will return home to face Arkansas on Wednesday night. The tip is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside Neville Arena. The game will air on the Auburn Sports Network and ESPN.
