Losing at home always adds an extra layer of frustration. Losing at home to your chief rival in the biggest game in the history of the Iron Bowl of Basketball is even more frustrating and not the least of bit disappointing.
It's especially disappointing when shot variance had a lot to do with it. Alabama had plenty of energy and gave enough effort. They dominated the glass, out-rebounding Auburn by 10 and limiting its biggest Achillies heel on offense: turnovers. The Tide only turned it over seven times on Saturday.
Those numbers mattered little because shot variance swung heavily in favor of the road team. Auburn made 12 threes and shot an efficient 40% from three-point range. Alabama finished under 20% from deep at just 5-of-26 and shot just 38.6% from the floor overall.
You have to give a lot of credit to Auburn's defense. The Tigers had a good game plan and defended the Crimson Tide well at the three-point line. Alabama's offense is all about paint touches and getting to the rim, something that is incredibly difficult against an Auburn team with a massive front line led by starters Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.
Auburn blocked six shots and impacted a lot of others. Alabama has shot close to 60% from two this season. Against the Tigers, that number was just 50%.
Alabama has been able to beat a lot of teams in spite of poor shooting. Unfortunately, that's not really possible against a team of Auburn's caliber. The Tigers are No. 1 in the country for a reason. They are elite on both ends and make life difficult. You can't afford to miss open threes and blow open looks at the rim as often as Alabama did and expect to win the game.
Alabama had two critical misses at the rim in this game that stood out.
After trailing the entire first half, Alabama cut Auburn's lead to 35-33 with under four minutes to play in the opening 20 minutes. Grant Nelson got the ball and attacked a wide-open rim. It looked like he was going for a thunderous dunk, but he took off a bit too early, anticipated contact that never came, and tried to lay it up and missed. Auburn went on a 7-0 run from there to take a nine-point halftime lead.
Alabama trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, but they made a run and even tied the game at 68-all following a Chris Youngblood three. Auburn pushed back ahead and led 79-73 with just under four minutes to play.
Jarin Stevenson rebounded a missed three by Mark Sears and with nobody else around the rim, blew a layup that would have cut the lead to just four points. He compounded the error by fouling Auburn's Myles Kelly on the rebound, and Kelly stepped up and knocked down a pair of free throws to push the Tigers' lead to eight.
Alabama had opportunities; they just could never take advantage and get over the hump. It's not a season-defining loss. The Tide will still be a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and may not drop much, if at all, in the AP Poll. But losing to a rival always takes a little more juice out of you and Alabama can't afford to lick its wounds with the road ahead.
Alabama's schedule allows it zero time to reflect on the disappointment of Saturday's defeat
Alabama winning 10 of its first 11 games in conference play was key with a brutal last seven. Alabama lost the first of those seven games on Saturday at home to Auburn.
Alabama goes on the road on Wednesday and will face a difficult challenge in CoMo against a Missouri Tigers team that ranks 15th in KenPom.
Alabama has been excellent on the road this season, but Missouri will provide a big challenge, especially if the Crimson Tide isn't able to leave the loss to Auburn in the rearview.
Following that, Alabama faces consecutive home matchups in Coleman against teams it has already beaten on the road. Kentucky and Mississippi State come to Tuscaloosa with added motivation to avoid a season sweep to the Tide.
Alabama's final three regular season games all come against teams ranked inside the KenPom Top 5: at Tennessee, home vs. Florida, and at Auburn.
A 4-2 finish with what lies in front of them would be impressive. Following the loss to Auburn, though, it's probably not good enough to win the SEC.
Alabama has to flip the page from Saturday's loss quickly or they'll allow it to beat them again.