How It Happened: No. 1 Auburn 94, No. 2 Alabama Basketball 85

Auburn triumphed over rival Alabama in a huge game at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday.

Feb 15, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) receives the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images | Will McLelland-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The first-ever battle of SEC basketball teams to feature No. 1 vs. No. 2 included the hype that many would expect from such a matchup.

Ultimately, it was No. 1 Auburn which came out on top on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum, reassuming its sole place at the top of the league standings. No. 2 Alabama struggled with shooting and never led despite the game being on its home floor.

The Tigers had six players score in double figures. Alabama had no such player in the first half, though Grant Nelson finished with a double-double. An absolutely raucous crowd was not enough to get the home team over the line.

Auburn's 9-0 start to the contest and ensuing responses to the Crimson Tide's rallies showed the kinds of things top teams do when they win on the road. Those teams don't let the moment get to them, even throughout the game, and these two teams are used to playing one another under bright lights anyway. However, no prior occasion met Saturday's level of anticipation rankings-wise.

How It Happened:

Second Half:

• FINAL: No. 1 Auburn 94, No. 2 Alabama 85.

• Alabama gets a bucket from Holloway after a goaltend is called to shrink the deficit to 90-85 with 31.4 seconds on the clock.

• Timeout Alabama. The Crimson Tide is down 90-83 with 41.5 seconds left.

• Alabama fans have begun hitting the exits.

• Flagrant foul on Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara, who has fouled out, and that'll end his day. 2:22 left to play with Auburn up 84-77 and free throws coming for Alabama.

• At the under-four timeout, Auburn is up 79-73. Just 3:53 remains on the clock. Auburn is on an 11-5 run since the game was tied at 68.

• Holloway has picked up his fourth personal foul.

• The Auburn lead is back up to eight, 77-69, with 4:54 on the clock.

• At the under-eight timeout, it's a new game. Auburn leads Alabama 71-68 with 6:31 to play, and is going to have to play against this crowd down the stretch.

• Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford just pulled up from heat-check distance and hit it, only for Chris Youngblood to respond with a three. We are knotted at 68. Trading blows now.

• Alabama has tied the game, for the first time since it was 0-0, on a Grant Nelson dunk. It is thunderous in this arena.

• Sears drills a long three, assisted by Philon, to make it 65-63.

• Nate Oats just got mic'd up and told the crowd to stop throwing things onto the floor. "We're trying to win the basketball game," he said.

• Mark Sears hits a three, making it 63-60, and Bruce Pearl calls timeout with 9:27 to play. Things are heating up. So is this crowd.

• Omoruyi draws a trip to the line with a basket, and it's 63-56. Coleman is trying to rally the troops. Free throw is good; it's now 63-57, and the noise is back.

• Alabama cuts it back to single digits: 63-54 after a Labaron Philon layup.

• Miles Kelly drains a triple to make it 63-50 with 11:13 remaining.

• At the under-12 timeout, Auburn leads the game 60-49. Alabama is going to have to claw its way back. 11:55 to go.

• Cliff Omoruyi just brought the crowd back to life with a reverse dunk. Alabama is now down 10.

• Alabama is still struggling to hit shots, down 59-47 with 12:55 to play. It's getting to be crunch time.

• Aden Holloway picks up his third foul.

• Chad Baker-Mazara is up to three fouls.

• At the under-16 timeout of the half, Alabama is in dire straits, down 55-41. 15:45 to go in the ball game.

• Denver Jones starts the scoring in the half with a three-pointer.

• The second half gets underway at 4:34 p.m. CT.

First Half:

• Halftime: No. 1 Auburn 42, No. 2 Alabama 33. The Crimson Tide offense is yet to shed its shooting struggles.

• Timeout, Nate Oats with just 17.4 seconds remaining. Chaney Johnson just nailed a three-pointer to stretch the Auburn lead to 42-33.

• Bruce Pearl calls timeout with 2:32 to go in the half. Alabama has had chances to tie or take the lead but not converted. Auburn is in front, 37-33.

• Alabama brings it to within two points on Derrion Reid free throws. The Tigers' lead is now 35-33.

• At the four-minute timeout, Auburn has a 35-29 advantage. Alabama has gone 2-of-14 from beyond the arc in the game, but is still in it with the No. 1 team. If the lid comes off the basket, this could be even closer. The Crimson Tide has also missed four free throws.

• Labaron Philon gets a big and-one after a Dylan Cardwell dunk. Free throw is no good; that makes it 33-29, Auburn.

• Alabama native Denver Jones gets the first basket out of the timeout, and Holloway collects his second foul for good measure.

• Jarin Stevenson buries a three from the corner, and at the under-eight timeout, the Auburn lead is down to one. It's 26-25 with the crowd all the way into it. 7:29 to go in the half.

• Fittingly, Aden Holloway hits the first Alabama three of the ball game. That one was long distance. 26-22 Tigers.

• Of note: Derrion Reid just hit two free throws.

• Johni Broome is called for an offensive foul. Aden Holloway is now checking into the game for Alabama.

• Baker-Mazara's long two has been changed to a three. The score is now 24-17.

• At the under-12 media timeout, Auburn leads Alabama by a score of 23-17. The Tigers' Chaney Johnson will have two free throws when the break is over. 10:51 to go in the first half.

• Baker-Mazara cashes on all three free throws.

• Chad Baker-Mazara drills a long two, making it 16-13 for the visitors. He's fouled on a three-point attempt by former teammate Aden Holloway on the next trip down the floor.

• Broome is tagged with a basket interference call on a missed dunk attempt. Mouhamed Dioubate then slammed down a jam and almost sent the roof off the arena.

• Sears draws another and-one, this time hitting the free throw to make it 14-11, Auburn.

• Nelson's basket has now been counted, making the score 14-8.

• At the first media timeout of the game, Auburn leads Alabama 14-6. 15:42 to go in the first half.

• Grant Nelson has a putback wiped off the board due to a goaltend, which the Alabama faithful did not like.

• Mark Sears draws an and-one, missing the free throw. It's now 11-4 Tigers.

• Alabama's first points come from a pair of free throws by Grant Nelson.

• Broome hits another triple, and Auburn has raced out to a 9-0 lead.

• Auburn star Johni Broome buries a three-pointer, and that puts a brief pause on the crowd noise until a Kelly foul.

• The first points of the game go to Auburn on a three-point basket from Miles Kelly. Crowd did not quiet much, if at all.

• The game officially gets underway at 3:16. As can be imagined, the near-capacity crowd was ready long before then. Mark Sears received a thunderous reaction during intros.

Pregame:

• Alabama is in its crimson alternate uniforms. Auburn is in its standard home uniforms.

• It's officially under the 30-minute mark to tip as of 2:38 p.m. CT.

• Both teams are now on the floor for warm-ups with 46 minutes and change to go until the action.

• Derrion Reid will reportedly officially be available for Alabama in today's game, per CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein.

• Auburn comes out to warm up and is met with a fervent chorus of boos from an already-full student section.