Alabama hosted its in-state rival tonight hoping to get the taste of the last game out of their mouths and did so resoundingly, 96-84.
Aden Holloway poetically opened the scoring with a little floater on the baseline. Labaron Philon took over from there, scoring on three straight possessions then assisting on a three-point play from Aiden Sherrell. Alabama led 11-3 in the early going, as Auburn turned it over on four of its first five possessions. Things only got worse from there for the Tigers, as the Tide took a 50-31 lead into the break capped off with a Philon buzzer beater.
Advertisement
Alabama thoroughly dominated the first half in every facet. Philon threw down a legacy game in his last start at Coleman, tossing in 16 first half points with three assists and a steal. Holloway was second with 9 points, and the scoring was spread out from there. The Tide won the rebounding battle 21-14, led by Houston Mallette with 4, and turned Auburn over nine times while coughing it up only four.
It was more of the same to open the second half. Auburn looked somewhat disinterested as Alabama opened up a 28-point lead at the 15-minute mark. Alabama was playing at its pace, still getting after it on the boards, and moving the basketball masterfully in the half court. To Auburn’s credit, they did wake up a bit for a while and got it back down to 16, but they were simply no match for the Tide on this night.
Philon finished with 21 points and 4 assists. He left the floor with just inside three minutes to play. Holloway matched the 21, and was also on the bench down the stretch. Alabama’s offense looked a bit rough with neither of them on the court.
It will be interesting to see what the committee does with Auburn now. Joe Lunardi seems to believe that they have a NCAA Tournament bid locked up but, assuming they don’t win the SEC Tournament, Auburn would be the first 16-loss at large team in the history of the event.
Alabama will next play Friday in Nashville.
Roll Tide.
