Don’t look now, but the state of Alabama is becoming the epicenter of college basketball. Auburn is undefeated and Alabama’s lone loss is to 5-1 Purdue. In the latest AP poll, Auburn is ranked fifth, while Alabama comes in at No. 9 in the country.
Could this be the biggest year in Alabama basketball history? Imagine: both Alabama and Auburn basketball teams making a Final Four run next spring. Is it possible? Absolutely it is.
Let’s take a look at both teams, starting with Auburn.
Last night, the Auburn Tigers basketball team dispatched college basketball blue blood North Carolina 85-72 to advance to the Maui Invitational finals for the first time in school history. Johni Broome posted his fourth consecutive double-double, scoring 23 points and swiping an incredible 19 rebounds to propel the Tigers to the finals against undefeated Memphis.
Auburn’s starting lineup on Tuesday was as follows: Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Broome, and Dylan Cardwell. Broome is an All-SEC performer, Kelly is the sharpshooter, Jones is the lockdown defender, Cardwell is a shot blocker and 134-game veteran, and Baker-Mazara is a free throw specialist. What’s not to like?
“Our guys started both halves extremely well. Johni Broome was dominant,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “Denver Jones continues to lead our guards with his defense. He’s one of the best defensive guards in the country. We’re going to need all that tomorrow against Memphis.”
Season scoring leaders for the Tigers are as follows:
Johni Broome – 20.7 ppg
Chad Baker-Mazara – 12.3 ppg
Miles Kelly – 11.3 ppg
Denver Jones – 11.2 ppg
Chaney Johnson – 10.8 ppg
Auburn is now 6-0 on the young season with three victories over ranked opponents. Earlier in the year, the Tigers defeated fourth-ranked Houston and defeated No. 5 Iowa State in the Maui quarterfinals on Monday. Auburn is 4-1 in all-time appearances in the Maui Invitational.
The Tigers square off against Memphis on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network from Lahaina Civic Center. Memphis advanced to the title game by beating Michigan State 71-63 earlier on Tuesday.
Now to the Crimson Tide.
Fresh of an 85-80 overtime victory against No. 6 Houston in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, Alabama discovered it can go into a hostile atmosphere and come out victorious. Said Alabama head basketball coach Nate Oats after the game, “We told our guys that was going to be a cage match in Vegas. That’s the toughest playing team in America. They’ve got more wins than anyone else in college basketball for the past five years for a reason. I’ve got a ton of respect of how hard they play and how they do it. To outrebounding a team like that by nine, you’ve got to have some tough guys on our team too. Proud of all of our guys.”
The face of the program may be Mark Sears, but the Tide is fully loaded with talent that provides a beautiful compliment to the veteran guard. Scoring-wise, Sears paces the Tide with 15.5 points per game, followed by Grant Nelson (14.0), Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (12.7), Labaron Philon (10.8), and Aden Holloway (9.3). Six-foot-eleven Center Clifford Omoruyi also chips in 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Sears may be the face of the franchise, but he isn’t the only one to post big numbers. Nelson has led the team in scoring on two occasions and backup forward Mouhamed Dioubate grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds against Houston.
Like Auburn, Alabama has already recorded multiple wins against ranked teams. Last week, the Tide defeated No. 25 Illinois 100-87 in the annual C.M. Newton Classic at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, followed by the Houston win on Tuesday.
Under Oats, Alabama has become a scoring machine, and this season is no exception. Already, the Tide have posted two 100-point games: a 110-point barrage against UNC Asheville to open the season on November 4 and versus Illinois.
Sears is now 23rd on Alabama’s all-time scoring list and will go down as one of the greatest players in program history. Whether he can usher Alabama to back-to-back Final Fours is yet to be seen.
Alabama’s next game is against Rutgers on Wednesday with tipoff set for 9 p.m. CT at the MGM Grand Arena. The game can be seen on TBS.
Both Auburn and Alabama have the capability of making deep runs in March. The reason? Both programs have great players on the floor and great coaches directing them. Pearl is 220-119 (.649 pct.) at Auburn with five 20-win seasons and one 30-win season, while Oats is 122-55 (.689) at Alabama with two 20-win seasons and one 30-win campaign. Both coaches have already taken their respective teams to Final Fours – Pearl led the Tigers to the Final Four in Minneapolis in 2018-19, while Oats ushered the Tide to the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona, last season.
Who goes deeper this postseason is really anyone’s guess, but it’s not crazy to think that both Alabama and Auburn could be on the bracket line when the Final Four teams descend on the Alamodome in San Antonio on April 5.
Perhaps the more probing question than which program will go farther this season is, “If you were starting a basketball program from scratch, would you want Nate Oats or Bruce Pearl to be your head coach?” TG
Cover graphic: Auburn’s Miles Kelly and Alabama’s Mark Sears
