Auburn sweeps Bama after road win

The Auburn Tigers strolled into Tuscaloosa on Tuesday night looking for their 21st win on the season and second in as many tries over Alabama. The Tide, on the other hand, was playing for its tournament life.

The Coleman Coliseum crowd was about as loud as you would expect a crowded airplane hangar to be. This was clearly a game to be worried about, as desperate teams at home are usually very tough to beat.

Alabama held the lead for most of the first half and led by as many as 13 before an 18-2 run brought the Tigers roaring back midway through the second half.

Auburn was 0-7 when trailing at halftime this season, but that stat no longer lacks a “W” in the win column as the Tigers came away with a come from behind victory, 66-60, completing the season’s sweep of the Tide.

Fun fact for the day: Alabama has now, through 29 games in the season, had a record of 17-12 each of the last 5 years. To be that consistent at being mediocre is something Auburn fans would just assume continue for their rival.

Now on to the game, Chuma Okeke led the Tigers in points and was an absolute animal on both ends of the floor, picking up 17 points with 14 rebounds and 3 assists. Okeke will play in the NBA someday, and it is just a matter of when. When Auburn needed a bucket, a big defensive play, or just an overall confidence boost, Chuma was there to provide. He plays the game with such ease, there’s a smoothness about him.

His impact is a lot like Jayson Tatum’s is on the Celtics. Both are two-way players that can shoot and play inside. Tatum is obviously more developed and polished, but I truly believe Chuma Okeke can one day transform into that type of guy.

Jared Harper was clutch down the stretch, as he hit 2 layups in traffic late in the game with the second one putting Auburn up 4 with about 18 seconds left.

Samir Doughty only scored 7 points, but he hit a huge 3 to put Auburn up 5 inside of 2 minutes to go in the game, as well as making both free throws to seal the game after an interception of a long Alabama pass on the other end of the court. Samir played crucial minutes and came up big for the Tigers.

Bryce Brown and Anfernee McLemore both continued to struggle, combining for 12 points in total for the night. Brown hit a big 3 late but was a liability on offense the majority of the night. The good news is that Auburn was able to win a tough road game while not playing great offensively.

One tidbit is that Auburn has swept the two-game series over Alabama and Georgia in basketball in the same year for the first time since 1967! If that stat alone doesn’t tell you how valuable Bruce Pearl has been for the Auburn program then I don’t know what will.

Pearl’s Tigers now turn their attention on the last regular season game of the year, as the 5th ranked team in the country come in to Auburn Arena in the form of Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers. The game is Saturday, March 9th, at 11:00 A.M. cst and it will be televised by ESPN.

I’m hoping that we can expect a packed and crazy Auburn Arena, but the problem is that the students get out of school the day before the game for spring break and many of them will be leaving the plains. Die-hards have taken to social media to encourage the students to stay for the morning after to support the basketball team in the biggest home game of the season vs. a Top 5 opponent.

Auburn beat Tennessee by 10 last year in Knoxville, but ended up sharing the SEC crown with the Volunteers. Let’s hope Auburn is out to prove something to themselves and the rest of the country.

After the latest Braketology has come out, Auburn is now up to a 6 seed, and Alabama has been relegated to the Last 4 In.

With a win Saturday, Auburn now has an outside shot of getting a 1st & 2nd round BYE in the SEC Tournament, but they’re tied at 4th with South Carolina at 10-7 in the SEC.

While the Vols visit Auburn, the Gamecocks play host to UGA this Saturday after defeating the Bulldogs earlier in the season, 86-80 in Athens. Not to mention, the Gamecocks own the head-to-head tie-breaker vs. Auburn after defeating the Tigers, 80-77 on January 22.