Alabama Basketball Prepares to Enter 'The Jungle'
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Auburn Arena. It is one of the most intimidating places to play in the country, and it is the home of the No. 1 team in college basketball. The student section called "The Jungle" has seats all along the court and sbeen a big part of why the Tigers have not lost at home all season.
It also just happens to be the site of Alabama's next basketball game.
"It’s going to be a great environment," said Alabama head coach Nate Oats. "I like playing over there. It’s a great environment for a basketball game. It’s going to be a fun game. I tell our guys, 'This is why you spend all your time working in the gym, to play in big games like this.'”
Oats is 1-1 at Auburn Arena in his tenure as the Crimson Tide's coach. In his first trip in 2020, Alabama got down 16-0 to then No. 12 Auburn, but came all the way back to force overtime. The Crimson Tide lost 95-91 in the extra period, but set the SEC record at the time for most made three-pointers in a game with 22. (They broke that record last season with 23 three-point makes against LSU.)
Last season, it was a smaller crowd because of COVID restrictions, but Oats led Alabama to a 94-90 win in Auburn Arena as part of the season sweep over the Tigers.
Now, Oats brings in a team that has one of the best collections of wins in the country (Gonzaga, Houston and Baylor), but also some of the worst losses in the SEC (Missouri and Georgia.)
“If you look at our wins, we look like we’re one of the best teams in the country," Oats said. "If you look at our losses, we look rather pedestrian, average. I’d like to think these guys don’t want to be average, they want to be great. We need the effort that we’ve shown in those big wins.”
One of those big wins was the most recent against Baylor on Saturday. Oats and the Crimson Tide players like the effort and energy the team played with from start to finish against the Bears. Another was Alabama's only true road win against Florida on January 5. The Crimson Tide would like to add another road conference win to the tally.
"It’s just another game for us," said senior forward James Rojas. "Obviously it’s going to be a hostile environment. We’re just going in there with the same energy we started last game and building on it so we can be better and just grow as a team.”
Rojas did not play in the first game against Auburn because he still had not returned from his ACL injury at the time. He said watching from the sidelines gave him a different perspective, and he's ready to be able to contribute for his team this time around.
In the first matchup with Auburn on January 11, Alabama was able to limit the effectiveness of the Tigers' Walker Kessler because he got in foul trouble. However, it didn't slow down Auburn as the Tigers still scored 81 points with 25 from freshman phenom Jabari Smith and 19 more from Wendell Green Jr. off the bench.
Oats called Auburn "loaded" at all positions and said they have five high-level guys on the floor at all times. One key for Alabama the second time around is limiting the fouls, particularly on Smith. Last time, the Crimson Tide fouled Smith on three jump shots with two of those fouls being on forward Juwan Gary. This limited Gary to just six minutes of playing time because of foul trouble and he finished with four points and one rebound.
When Gary plays 25 minutes or more for the Crimson Tide, they are undefeated. Oats wants to see Gary on the floor more this time against the Tigers for what he brings on both offense and defense.
"He’s a big part to what we’re doing," Oats said. "We need to try and keep him in there. He brings us energy. He almost shot 100 percent from the field against Baylor."
Against the Bears, Gary went 7-8 from the floor with 15 points and three offensive rebounds. He will need to stay out of foul trouble against Auburn.
The game on Tuesday night at 8 kicks off a big week for Alabama. Saturday it will host No. 5 Kentucky inside Coleman Coliseum for what will be the Crimson Tide's third straight game against an AP top-five team.
According to Gary though, Alabama isn't overlooking Auburn and is taking it game by game, day by day.
"It’s a very big week for us playing against Kentucky and Auburn— the top two teams in the SEC," Gary said. "But I feel like we’ve got a good feel, a good vibe going on in practice from the coaches just preaching about effort and energy— just keeping our head on straight, don’t look over the little things.”
Tuesday night is no small task for the Crimson Tide. A road game against an in-state rival that just so happens to be the No. 1 team in the country. The good news for Alabama fans is that these are the type of teams that Alabama plays their best against.
And that's what Oats is hoping for in Auburn Arena this week.
"I’m excited for where we’re at," Oats said. "Hopefully we’ve turned a corner and can bring an effort like we did against Baylor every night out from here on out.”
