Why Bout with Alabama is Set to Be Auburn's Most Important Game

The Auburn Tigers are set for a bout with their archrival, and it comes at a crucial time on the schedule

A big rivalry game is also a pivotal game on Auburn's schedule | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers found themselves back in the win column on Tuesday night after defeating the LSU Tigers 88-74 on senior night in Neville Arena. Auburn still has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament, but cannot afford to drop its last game against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday evening. 

Auburn has had a rough season, sitting at 16-14 (7-10 in conference) and 11th in the SEC rankings. Initially, to start the year, it looked like Auburn would compete with the best teams in the country, as they only lost by one point to the (then first-ranked, now seventh-ranked) Houston Cougars back in November. But things quickly fell apart for Steven Pearl and the Tigers once conference play began. 

Eight games into conference play, Auburn sat at 5-3 and within grasp of first place in the SEC, even notching a win against last season’s national champion, the Florida Gators, on the road. Then, the calendar flipped to February, which proved to be a detrimental month for the Tigers. 

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Auburn lost six of its seven games during February, pushing them out as a lock in the NCAA Tournament. Now, Auburn sits as the ‘first team out’ of the NCAA Tournament, with Santa Clara, Ohio State, New Mexico and Indiana holding the ‘last four in’ spots in ESPN’s most recent bracketology by Joe Lunardi. 

The Tigers are down, but not out of the picture yet. Auburn is somewhat in control of its own destiny, needing a win on Saturday against Alabama, which fell to the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday evening, and win at least one SEC Tournament game, to have a strong enough resumé to make an argument. 

Until Auburn can pull off an upset victory against Alabama, the Tigers will remain on the outside looking in. Should the Tigers lose to Alabama, their NCAA Tournament hopes are all but gone. Auburn would then become the first team since 2024 to reach the Final Four the season prior, then miss the tournament as a whole the following season (NC State).

Over the past few weeks, everything is on the line for the Tigers this weekend and the following week at the SEC Tournament. “We have to carry that (momentum) over to Saturday against a really high-powered offense and into the SEC Tournament,” Pearl said following the win against LSU. Tip-off for the Iron Bowl of basketball is set for 7:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.