BamaCentral Courtside: No. 7 Alabama 93, No. 1 Auburn 91 (OT)

AUBURN, Ala.–– Before Alabama made the trip down to Auburn, head coach Nate Oats outlined that there wasn't much on the line for the game against the No. 1 Tigers.

He asked some of his veterans and banged up players if they still wanted to play against Auburn, and their answer was a resounding yes. The Crimson Tide players showed how much pride they have in themselves and their team with a 93-91 victory over Auburn in overtime, spoliing the Tigers' Senior Day.

The Crimson Tide led for nearly the entire first half, but the two teams traded runs in the second half, sending the game to overtime. Alabama got the chance for the final shot of OT in a tie game with 14.7 seconds left. Fifth-year guard Mark Sears made the game-winning shot as time expired.

Never a question Mark. pic.twitter.com/OY61cHOIKv
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 8, 2025

Alabama got double-digit scoring performances from Grant Nelson (23), Clifford Omoruyi (15) and Labaron Philon (15.) Sears had one of his lowest scoring nights with just nine points, but continued to be a good teammate throughout and made the winning basket when it mattered most.

"I know the game wasn’t meaningful in terms of SEC regular season championship results but it looked to me that they (Auburn) were trying to get the win.," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during his postgame press conference. "They brought their best guys, they didn’t sit Denver (Jones), Broome is obviously playing very well with 34 points, eight rebounds and hit some big shots. We went up against them on their senior night and I think we showed what we are capable of being moving forward.

"I couldn’t be more proud of the group of guys, nobody in the country came close to the seven-game stretch we had to close the year, so coming up with a win over the number one team on their home floor, who happens to be our archrival, to close it out after the adversity we faced. We had the tough loss at Tennessee and the Florida game we didn’t look good so to bounce back, come in here like we did, and it didn’t go perfect. I challenged our guys to be the hardest playing team and the toughest team.

When we needed him (Mark Sears) late, he delivered and bailed me out because that play design wasn’t all that great. Hopefully this will give our guys some confidence going into the SEC Tournament and we have to get our legs back up under us, get our confidence back and I think this is a big start.”

This win is what the Crimson Tide needed heading into the postseason. Alabama will now have nearly a week off before opening play at the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday.

Watch the above video as Alabama Crimson Tide on SI assistant editor Katie Windham shares her final thoughts and takeaways from the court at Neville Arena after Alabama's upset win over No. 1 Auburn thanks to Mark Sears' buzzer beater.

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