Late Surge Pushes No. 20 Alabama Past Auburn in Thrilling Exhibition

The Crimson Tide outlasted the Tigers in a scrappy Iron Bowl of Basketball scrimmage for the ages.

Alabama guard Qayden Samuels goes over a defenders head in the first half of the exhibition game against Auburn on Oct. 22, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 20 Alabama basketball outlasted Auburn 87-85 on Thursday night in the Crimson Tide's final exhibition of the preseason.

Alabama trailed late in this one, but a last push helped the Crimson Tide finish the preseason 3-0. But there was so much to unpack from this one, as calling it a scrimmage would be an insult.

This historic rivalry is known as the Iron Bowl of Basketball, but the exhibition, hosted by Knight Eady, was given the name "The Feud." It certainly lived up to the hype as there was a scuffle less than five minutes after tipoff.

Physicality played a big role in the first half, and Auburn had the edge early. With 12 minutes remaining, the Tigers led 15-6 in rebounds, including a 7-1 margin on the offensive glass. Four different Tigers had at least three rebounds at the time, while Tarris Bouie was Alabama's only hope with four by himself.

"We're not tough enough," Alabama head coach said on the Knight Eady broadcast with eight minutes left in the first half. "They're killing us on our defensive glass right now. We're not handling the physicality of the game as well as we need to. We've got too many fouls on this end. We've got to play through some physicality down there a lot better, too."

Alabama was able to fix its issues going into the locker room up 44-41 on the scoreboard. The Tide finished the half on a 16-12 rebounding run (27-22 Auburn), grabbing six more offensive boards in the process.

Alabama forward Keitenn Bristow, who only played in 10 games in 2025-26 before a season-ending injury, played a big role in the Crimson Tide's end-of-half run, logging 11 points and five rebounds. Freshman Qayden Samuels also showed out in his first 20 minutes, leading all scorers with 14 points.

This being an exhibition didn't even slip the minds of Alabama or Auburn. The intensity was there from start to finish, and the opening of the second half continued to be scrappy. Allen and Bouie led the way for most of the period on both ends of the floor, but the Auburn never went away.

Being yelled at by Alabama head coach Oats during the scuffle only seemed to fuel Auburn guard Kevin Overton. He tied the game and even gave the Tigers the lead on numerous occasions during the second half. Auburn held a 78-76 lead with under four minutes to go, and that's where it really turned into a March Madness feel.

Allen missed his first free throw before hitting the second to cut the deficit to one. London Jemison, a fellow returner from last year's team, then hit a three-pointer to take the Crimson Tide's first lead in six minutes of action.

Auburn tied it with free throws, but then Allen converted an and-1 layup that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Samuels, again, a freshman in his third unofficial game against another program, hit the dagger with 36 seconds remaining.

As previously stated, Oats and company won all three scrimmages, as UA took down Furman on Oct. 8 and Ole Miss on Oct. 15. Nevertheless, the Crimson Tide is 0-0, as it'll host Sam Houston in the regular-season opener on Nov. 3.

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