BamaCentral Courtside after Alabama's 96-84 Win Over Auburn

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 16 Alabama closed out the regular season in style, dominating the Auburn Tigers 96-84 in Coleman Coliseum, locking up the 2-seed in the SEC Tournament and securing the season sweep of the Tigers.

Alabama saw both Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon score 21 points each as the pair controlled the tempo and the attack. The unit helped the Crimson Tide get into the lane effectively as Alabama outscored Auburn in the paint 58-32.

The Crimson Tide turned Auburn over early to jump into a lead, but it was Alabama's effort on the glass that made the difference. The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Tigers 42-28, including using 19 offensive rebounds for 24 second-chance points.

"I think my favorite play of the game was Jalil's [Bethea] putback," Nate Oats said. "I loved it. I've really come to love that kid. A kid with a lot of expectations and pressure on him coming in. He's really just bought in to trying to get better. Played hard, played with a great attitude, getting better at the stuff we're trying to push him to get better at. In nine minutes, he scores six points, has that big o-board. I thought he was good. He didn't turn the ball over at all. So, I couldn't have been happier. He was great. London [Jemison] had some really good o-boards. Houston [Mallette] was going all over. You go down the list, like Aiden Sherrell was obviously great on the glass. He had four, Amari had two, London had two, Houston had three, Noah Williamson in 10 minutes had two. A lot of guys had double-digit rebounds. Noah, I thought, was great in there. Aiden Sherrell, twice as many o-boards as defensive boards. I thought he was really getting to the offensive glass hard. He's coming along like we need him too. I'm really happy with the effort all over the offensive boards."

Jalil Bethea skied for the rebound, grabbed it with his left hand, swapped it to his right and put a shot back up before hitting the ground. What an athletic playpic.twitter.com/L7qmy4XC8V
— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) March 8, 2026

The Crimson Tide now turns its attention to Nashville where they'll enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Alabama got a double-bye, but will likely face a challenging game in the quarterfinals as Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss are in their branch of the bracket. Alabama lost at home to Texas early in the season and on the road to Georgia this past week.

Watch the above video as Alabama Crimson Tide On SI writers Katie Windham and Joe Gaither shares final thoughts and takeaways from the court at Coleman Coliseum in after No. 16 Alabama defeated Auburn 96-84.