Alabama Basketball needed to prove it is one of college basketball's best teams. Losing four of six games had put such a claim in question. Alabama answered the question Saturday in Auburn, beating the Tigers 93-91 in overtime. Make no mistake Auburn wanted the win, with Bruce Pearl pushing his team to pull off a statement win by beating Alabama twice in the regular season. There was only a slight difference in motivation between the two teams because Alabama needed the win more than Auburn.
Afterward, Nate Oats said, "I think we showed what we're capable of being moving forward." Yes, the Alabama Crimson Tide did, and as a result, Alabama is back in contention for an NCAA Tournament 1-seed.
Auburn fans will not see the irony, but the Tigers did what all opponents believe must be done to beat Alabama. Mark Sears hit a floater in the lane as time expired to gain the win. It was only his ninth field goal attempt of the 45-minute game. Since the first IBOB this season, Sears had averaged 18.6 field goal attempts a game. Auburn's plan was not to let Mark Sears beat them. In the end, the plan failed.
Auburn was not wrong to focus on Sears. Alabama was right to turn elsewhere, rather than running the game through on in what would have led to forced shots. Grant Nelson with 23 points, and Labaron Philon with 15 points stepped up. Sears remained active offensively, producing seven assists, and three rebounds with his nine points. Cliff Omoruyi had a big game with 15 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes of play that was limited by foul trouble. Nelson also had eight rebounds, and Aiden Sherrell was the game's Hard Hat winner and contributed eight points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes. In addition to his 15 points, Philon added four rebounds and three assists. It was very much a team for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama Basketball got back to 'Playing Good Basketball'
In the leadup to the game, Nate Oats said, "We just got to get back to playing good basketball. ... These seniors have anywhere between 3 and 10 games left in their career. They don't need to waste a game." They wasted nothing and on the last Saturday of the SEC regular season, Alabama Basketball showed itself as a team no opponent will want in the NCAA Tournament.
Note: Game stats provided by ESPN