Putting Saturday's Iron Bowl Of Basketball Into Historical Context: Just A Minute

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral's Peyton Davis details the historical significance of Saturday's matchup between Alabama and Auburn.

The eyes of the college basketball world will be on Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa tomorrow afternoon.

Alabama versus Auburn. The Iron Bowl. The story has been told numerous times and has given many memories over the years on the gridiron of Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, and Jordan-Hare Stadium at the Plains across the state.

However, on Saturday, an unprecedented chapter of the series begins, as the two bitter in-state rivals will face off on the court as the two top-ranked teams in the country. A scenario that has never taken place in football.

The gravity of this game is obvious when it comes to in the state of Alabama, but this game is also of historical significance in college basketball as a whole.

One versus two has never happened in the history of the SEC in basketball. Adding further context, when looking at the sport's most significant rivalry, Duke versus North Carolina, such matchup has only happened three times in the series's history and never since the turn of the century.

Since 1951, a matchup like this has only happened 22 times, with one holding a narrow 12-to-10 advantage over two.

There is an unprecedented nature about this game, but even on the court, it is a clash of two very different styles between traditional and modern basketball.

Auburn is a team elite in the half court on both ends, highly efficient and an offense that runs through their star big mostly from the low block. A style that is similar to the great teams from the past.

Alabama is the more analytical style that has trickled down from the pro game. Fast paced and centered around getting looks at the rim and three point line.

This formula broke many statistical trends last year in the team's run to the Final Four, as they did so despite their cold end to the season and while being ranked 111th on Kenpom's defensive efficiency ratings.

There are no shortage of storylines ahead of this season's first edition of the Iron Bowl of Basketball, and Tuscaloosa will have a fall-like game day feel early Saturday morning in anticipation of a true heavyweight clash at 3 p.m CST.