Simply put, Alabama wasn't good enough to beat a team as good as Auburn on Saturday afternoon in the Iron Bowl of Basketball.
The Crimson Tide did the things Nate Oats thought they needed to do to beat the top-ranked Tigers. Alabama took care of the ball offensively and had only seven turnovers. They also dominated the glass and out-rebounded Auburn by 10, including doubling them up on the offensive glass.
None of that mattered because Auburn's defense was too good and Alabama couldn't knock down shots from three and missed far too many open looks at the rim to have a shot at knocking off a team as good as the Tigers.
Alabama shot 5-of-26 from three-point range and just 38.6% overall. Shot variance was in favor of Auburn and the difference in the game. Alabama's energy and effort was high, fitting of what was billed as perhaps the biggest game in SEC history.
The Tide trailed by nine at halftime and Auburn's lead ballooned to as many as 14 points in the second half. Alabama made a run, but the Tigers hit some big shots down the stretch to hold off the Crimson Tide.
3 Takeaways from Alabama's loss to Auburn
3. The final 3:30 of the first half was the difference in the game
Auburn got off to a 9-0 lead to open the game and made Alabama play from behind the whole game. After Auburn hit 5-of-10 three-point attempts to open the afternoon, Alabama's defense stiffened up and held Auburn to just 1-of-9 the rest of the half.
Alabama cut Auburn's lead to 35-33 with 3:30 to go in the first half on a pair of free throws by Derrion Reid. Unfortunately, that was the last points the Crimson Tide would score for the remainder of the half.
Auburn finished the first half on a 7-0 run to take a nine-point lead into the locker room. Alabama had a chance to tie or take the lead on back-to-back possessions, but Labaron Philon turned the ball over and Grant Nelson missed an open layup/dunk attempt.
Auburn didn't do much offensively in that stretch, but Chaney Johnson hit a three with >20 seconds to go that stretched the lead to nine.
2. Three-point shooting was the difference
Auburn hit 40% of its three point attempts, knocking down 12-of-30 from downtown. Alabama hit just 5-of-26 (19.2%) from three. That was the difference in the game.
Alabama did well to take care of the basketball game and won a lot of the effort plays by out-rebounding the Tigers. But to beat Auburn, you can't shoot 20% from three-point range.
A lot of that credit should go to Auburn as the Tigers' defensive gameplan worked really well. With Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell on the front line, Auburn didn't have to help off of shooters. They played Alabama's guards tight and weren't afraid about being beaten off the dribble because they knew their bigs would recover and make life difficult at the rim.
1. Alabama's guards have to be better
Auburn's guards thoroughly outplayed Alabama's. Denver Jones, Myles Kelly, and Tahaad Pettiford all scored in double-figures for the Tigers.
Alabama's three on-ball guards: Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, and Aden Holloway all scored in double-figures too. Chris Youngblood wasn't far behind with 8 points. But the efficiency difference was staggering.
Sears, Holloway, and Youngblood are Alabama's three best shooters and they combined to make just 4-of-18 attempts from three.
In particular, it was a rough night for Sears. The preseason National Player of the Year looked like anything but. He scored 18 points, but was 4-of-17 from the field and just 2-of-11 from three-point range.
Simply put, Alabama needed more from its guards. It needed a lot more from Sears, the leader of the team.
This loss is not all that damaging for the Crimson Tide, save for it giving Auburn an obvious leg-up in the competition for an SEC regular season title, particularly with the brutal schedule Alabama has to face coming up.