Live Updates from No. 16 Alabama Basketball vs. Auburn

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - No. 16 Alabama returns to Coleman Coliseum for the regular season finale against their arch rivals, the Auburn Tigers. Alabama went to Auburn and won by four points, kicking off an eight-game winning streak for the Crimson Tide. Auburn has lost seven of its last nine games and find themselves squarley on the NCAA Tournament bubble, making tonight's Iron Bowl of Basketball all the more dramatic.

The Arkansas Razorbacks defeated the Missouri Tigers on the road in overtime on Saturday morning, making the SEC Tournament scenarios clear. If Alabama beats Auburn, the Crimson Tide will claim the No. 2 seed, but an Auburn victory drops Alabama to the No. 3 seed in Nashville.

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Live Updates

(latest updates at the top)

Second Half

Final Score: Alabama 96, Auburn 84

1:01 - Latrell Wrightsell subs out to a standing ovation. He scored eight points and had seven rebounds on senior day.

1:54 - Noah Williamson scores on senior day. The Bucknell transfer took an alley-oop from Taylor Bol Bowen to a rousing applause.

2:40 - Laron Philon is subbed out of the game to a standing ovation. He's likely finished his career in Coleman Coliseum with a 21-point, four assist performance.

TIMEOUT 2:47 - Alabama leads 87-71. Auburn's actually winning the second half by three, but Alabama's first half play is carrying the day. Aden Holloway is now the Crimson Tide's leading scorer with 21, passing Labaron Philon's 20 point effort.

5:11 - Amari Allen gets an offensive rebound putback to bump Alabama's lead up to 23 points and we're just playing this out.

6:14 - Auburn is showing a little bit of pressure, but Aden Holloway breaks it and gets the ball up the floor. Steven Pearl is trying everything he can to change the game, but it's just not Auburn's night.

TIMEOUT 6:39 - Alabama leads 79-60. The Crimson Tide is doing a good job on the glass with 14 second half rebounds to the Tigers eight. The rivals are tied in the second half at 23.

7:15 - Amari Allen just got into double digit scoring. The freshman has 10 points after scoring five in the last two games combined.

8:50 - Aiden Sherrell skies for a block. He's done a nice job staying out of foul trouble tonight and has given Alabama 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

10:56 - Labaron Philon stays hot for Alabama. He's done such a good job getting into the paint and penetrating, causing the Auburn defense to rotate and react. Philon is up to 20 points and Alabama leads 71-50.

13:04 - Houston Mallette is so unselfish. The veteran gets a steal and a runout, but passes off to London Jemison for the fast break bucket. Alabama leads 69-44 as the one-way traffic continues.

TIMEOUT 15:47 - Alabama leads 64-39 and is on a 6-0 run. The Auburn Tigers have been up against the momentum of the game the entire night. Aden Holloway and Aiden Sherrell each have four second-half points and the Crimson Tide have started the second frame 5-of-6 from the field.

17:17 - Kevin Overton made a 3-point basket for Auburn. The guard was left wide open on a defensive miscue. Alabama still leads 58-39.

18:05 - Aiden Sherrell started off the second half strong with four points. He made two free throws and athletically rolled for a fast break dunk for his other bucket.

HALFTIME: Alabama 50, Auburn 31

5 Standout Halftime Stats From Alabama-Auburn:

Labaron Philon Jr. has 16 points (only player with 10-plus)
Alabama leads 30-18 in points in the paint
Alabama is 15 of 23 from 2-point range
Auburn has nine turnovers to Alabama's four
Alabama leads 15-5 in second-chance points

HALFTIME: No. 16 Alabama 50, Auburn 31 pic.twitter.com/4zyKGYDGBW
— Hunter De Siver (@HunterDeSiver) March 8, 2026

First Half

:40 - Aden Holloway goes to the line for two free throws. Auburn is on an 8-0 run as Alabama has missed its last four shots from the field. Holloway makes his two freebies and is up to nine points on the night.

3:29 - Tahaad Pettiford gets on the board for Auburn but things are slipping quickly for the Tigers. Alabama is on an 18-4 run and leads 45-25.

5:40 - Alabama's on a 10-0 run and Auburn compounds their problems with another turnover. The Crimson Tide is ahead by 18 as they approach halftime. Auburn hasn't made a basket in the lat 3:30 of play.

TIMEOUT 6:23 - Alabama leads 37-21 as the Auburn Tigers can't get anything going offensively. Labaron Philon continues to take the ball to the basket and has 13 points to lead all scorers.

7:03 - Amari Allen drove to the basket for a bucket on one end, and rejected a shot defensively on the other. The freshman looks in better form after the last two outings didn't go so well for him.

TIMEOUT 7:45 - Alabama leads 31-21 and the game has settled into a bit of a flow after the early game energy. The Crimson Tide is getting into the lane well has 18 points in the paint to Auburn's 10.

8:20 - Keyshawn Hall makes a 3-point basket to keep Auburn within striking distance. Hall is up to five points for the Tigers.

8:59 - Jalil Bethea finds Aiden Sherrell down on the block who draws a foul. Sherrell's two free throws take him to five points on the night as Alabama leads 29-18.

10:25 - Jalil Bethea makes a 3-point basket. Big bucket for the Miami transfer who's struggled this season. If Bethea can give Alabama another option it takes pressure off Labaron Philon. Alabama leads 27-16.

TIMEOUT 11:43 - The Crimson Tide has a 21-11 lead as Alabama is shooting 60-percent from the floor to Auburns 44-percent. Alabama is outrebounding Auburn 7-5 and the Crimson Tide has forced six turnovers.

12:00 - Labaron Philon drains a wide open 3-point shot to give Alabama a 21-11 lead. Philon is up to 11 points and Alabama is playing with much more energy in the early part of this game.

13:40 - Bol Bowen gets a defensive block and then a steal and is already making an early impact.

13:50 - Taylor Bol Bowen heads to the free throw line after Alabama takes advantage of another Auburn turnover. The Tigers are up to six turnovers on the night.

14:38 - London Jemison grabbs an offensive rebound and slams it home for his first points of the night. Alabama leads 15-7.

14:59 - Auburn turns the ball over in transition and is up to five in the early part of tonight's game.

TIMEOUT 15:43 - Intensity is the name of the game as Alabama has a 13-7 lead to open the Iron Bowl of basketball. Labaron Philon leads the Crimson Tide with six points, all at the rim, and KeShawn Murphy leads the Tigers with four points on two dunks.

16:15 - KeShawn Murphy's found himself two dunks on back to back possesssions, becoming a problem inside for Alabama.

16:53 - Aiden Sherrell makes a free-throw for a 3-point play the old fashioned way. Alabama leads 11-3 early and the energy in Coleman Coliseum is through the roof.

17:000 - Tahaad Pettiford gets Auburn on the board with a 3-point shot. The Alabama students chant "DUI" at him as they go back down the floor.

17:26 - It's going to be a Labaron Philon night. The sophomore weaves into the lane and scores another bucket and is up to six points by himself.

17:56 - Labaron Philon takes a steal coast to coast for an easy layup, giving the Crimson Tide a 6-0 lead. Auburn's offense has started off sloppy, turning the ball over four times.

19:07 - Aden Holloway opens the scoring with a two-point basket, giving he Crimson Tide the early lead.

Pregame

Alabama Starters

G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Aden Holloway
G Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
F Amari Allen
F Aiden Sherrell

Auburn Starters

G Tahaad Pettiford
G Kevin Overton
G Elyjah Freeman
G Keyshawn Hall
F KeShawn Murphy

The student section is full and most of Coleman Coliseum along with it. People are still making their way to their seats as we await the national athem.

Alabama basketball honored its seniors with 10 minutes left on the pregame clock. The Crimson Tide honored Noah Williamson, Houston Mallette and Latrell Wrightsell as well as a number of support staff and managers on Senior Day.

There are 52 minutes on the clock, and Coleman Coliseum is slowly filling up. Alabama basketball royalty is in the building, with former player Robert Horry spending time with former coach Wimp Sanderson.

Robert Horry is in Coleman Coliseum talking to former Alabama head coach Wimp Sanderson before tonight’s Iron Bowl of Basketball pic.twitter.com/wXMSxDy1Uu
— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) March 8, 2026

Alabama and Auburn players are out of the locker room, shooting in warm-up gear. There are 82 minutes on the countdown clock, and the Alabama student section is about 75 percent full.

Nate Oats came out of the locker room and addressed the Alabama student section before the game. Oats thanked Crimson Chaos for the season long support, but asked the students not to curse at Auburn tonight.

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats thanks the student section for the season of support and asks them not to chant “F Auburn” tonight pic.twitter.com/Mz46copzJy
— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) March 7, 2026

How to Watch: 2026 Iron Bowl of Basketball, Part II

Who: Auburn (16-14, 7-10 SEC) at No. 16 Alabama (22-8, 12-5 SEC)

What: Alabama's final game of the regular season

When: Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m. CT

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

TV: ESPN

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

SiriusXM: Channel 84 (Alabama), Channel 381 (Auburn)

Series: Alabama leads 102-69, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 28, 1924. The Crimson Tide is 60-21 at home against the Tigers.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide took down Auburn 96-92 on the road on Feb. 7. It was the first time since 2011-12 that Alabama had back-to-back wins in Neville Arena. The Crimson Tide erased a 10-point first-half deficit thanks to the double-digit scoring efforts of four players. Labaron Philon once again led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 25 points, helping him earn the Co-SEC Player of the Weekaward two days later. Freshman Amari Allen tallied 17, Aden Holloway, a former Auburn player, logged 15 as part of a late spurt and Charles Bediako put up 12. Bediako lost his injunction hearing on Feb. 9 and will not be eligible for the regular-season finale.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide fell to Georgia 98-88 on the road on March 3, ending Alabama's eight-game win streak. The Bulldogs bit UA down low, as they finished the game with 40 points in the paint compared to the Tide's 18. Georgia put up 25 second-chance points, while Alabama tallied nine. Philon and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. combined for 45 points, but it wasn't enough compared to Georgia's Kanon Catchings' 32 by himself. Oats and company would've locked up the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament had they won, but now Alabama must fight for it on Saturday night.

Last time out, Auburn: AU beat LSU 88-74 at home on March 3. Tahaad Pettiford led the way with team highs in points (27), assists (6) and steals (4). Kevin Overton (21 points), Keyshawn Hall (17) and Elyjah Freeman (10) also finished in double figures, as the latter two tied for the team high in rebounds with six apiece. While the shooting splits between these two Tiger teams were very similar, the same could not be said for the turnover margin. LSU turned the ball over 16 times compared to Auburn's nine. Auburn had 13 steals, while LSU had seven.