In its regular-season finale, and with its postseason hopes hanging in the balance, Auburn delivered a flat first-half performance that proved too much to overcome on Saturday night.
A sluggish start and defensive breakdowns fueled the Tigers’ 96-84 loss to its archrival No. 16 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum, marking the third straight loss in the series.
Averaging 92 points per game, Alabama torched the Tigers from start to finish as it notched its 20th 90-point game this season, which leads all of Division I.
Alabama, which led the country in 3-point attempts (35.8) and 3-pointers made (13) per game entering the contest, only shot 26% from deep with seven triples, ending an 11-game streak of double-digit makes from beyond the arc.
Unlike the first meeting, where the Crimson Tide shot a blistering 52% from deep – which was a season-high at that point in the season – Alabama did its damage down low. Averaging just 32 points per game in the painted area, it tallied a whopping 58 points in the paint, marking the second-most Auburn has allowed this season and the most in league play.
Alabama converted on its first six baskets from the field, with its first 10 points coming on layups and dunks. Auburn, overplaying the perimeter, allowed Alabama to shoot out to a 22-point first-half lead behind a 16-4 run before the closing minutes of the first stanza.
Auburn used an 8-0 run before the half’s close to trim the deficit to 14 before a strong finish from Alabama and a buzzer-beating trey from Labaron Philon bounced the lead back to 19.
Auburn committed nine turnovers – six before the under-12 timeout – in the first half, which led to 13 Alabama points. The Crimson Tide took advantage of Auburn’s poor efforts on the glass with 10 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points.
The Tigers closed the final stanza with a 58% mark from the field, outscoring Alabama 53-46 – just four points shy of tying its season-high point output in the second half.
But the Tigers’ first-half disaster was impossible to overcome.
Kevin Overton poured in a team-high 24 points to go with Tahaad Pettiford’s 19-point performance.
As the No. 12 seed in the tournament, Auburn will take on No. 13 seed Mississippi State on Wednesday in Game Two of the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
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