Auburn basketball vs Alabama live score, updates, highlights from No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup

Any time Auburn and Alabama play in any sport, it means something within the borders of its home state, with precious, hard-earned bragging rights on the line.

This weekend, more than just the state of Alabama will have its eyes on the Crimson Tide and Tigers’ men’s basketball teams. The entire country will.

Watch Alabama basketball vs Auburn live with Fubo (free trial)

On Saturday, the top two teams in the nation will square off when No. 2 Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa to face off against the archrival No. 1 Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum. It will be the first-ever SEC game between the two highest-ranked teams in the sport.

It figures to not only be a competitive game, but a highly entertaining one filled with some of college basketball’s best players and brightest stars.

REQUIRED READING:Alabama, Auburn meeting in No. 1 vs. No. 2 college basketball clash validates both programs

Auburn and Alabama are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, among Division I teams in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Coach Nate Oats’ fast-paced system is humming yet again this season, with several of the best pieces from the Crimson Tide’s Final Four run last season — namely, guard Mark Sears and forward Grant Nelson — yet again pacing the Crimson Tide. Bruce Pearl and the Tigers, meanwhile, have maybe the country’s best player in forward Johni Broome, who is averaging 18.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game and is in a neck-and-neck race with Duke’s Cooper Flagg for national player of the year honors.

Auburn and Alabama split their two-game series last season, with each team winning at home.

Follow along here for the live score, updates, highlights, how to watch and more from Auburn basketball’s game against Alabama:

Auburn basketball vs Alabama score updates

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Auburn basketball vs Alabama live updates

FINAL: Auburn 94, Alabama 85

Auburn gets the upper hand in the biggest game of the season. Six Tigers players finish in double figures, led by Johni Broome’s 19 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, all of which are team highs.

Coach Bruce Pearl’s team, already No. 1 in the Associated Press top 25, will move up to No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll while leaving little doubt that it’s the best team in the country.

Chad Baker-Mazara fouls out

Auburn will try to ice its win against Alabama without one of its best players. Chad Baker-Mazara, after a lengthy review, is hit with a flagrant foul and has fouled out. The veteran guard finishes his day with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Tigers backup big man Dylan Cardwell had previously fouled out.

Auburn with an 86-78 with 1:37 left.

Auburn holds on to six-point lead heading into final minutes

An Auburn team that already has 13 Quad One wins this season is four minutes away from its biggest victory of the season.

The Tigers held strong while Johni Broome was on the bench, outscoring Alabama 6-1 in the 1:37 while Broome was out of the game. Auburn leads 79-73 with 3:53 remaining. Tahaad Pettiford has been huge in the stretch, with seven points in the past four minutes.

Johni Broome injury

While narrowly holding on to its once sizable lead, Auburn may have to go the rest of the way with a less-than-his-best star player.

After executing a series of post moves and missing on his shot attempt in the paint, Johni Broome went back to the other end of the court limping and signaled to the bench for a substitution. Broome missed two games earlier this season with a sprained ankle, though it’s unclear if that’s what’s bothering him.

Broome has a team-high 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists today. The Tigers’ lead is down to three, 71-68, with 6:31 left. What a game.

Alabama gets within a basket

Auburn pushed its lead to 13, 63-50, but Alabama has responded with authority. The Crimson Tide has scored 10 unanswered in a period of just 1:46, with Labaron Philon accounting for four of those points. Mark Sears caps the run off with his first made 3-pointer of the day, prompting a Bruce Pearl timeout. Sears had missed his first six attempts from beyond the arc.

Auburn’s lead is down to three, 63-60, with 9:27 left.

Chad Baker-Mazara gets into it with Alabama fans

Don’t forget: this is a rivalry game.

While trying to save a ball from going out of bounds, Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara fell into the photographers sitting courtside and the fans in the front row behind the baseline. He exchanged some words with the fans, with one fan getting heated based on something Baker-Mazara said. Not sure if Baker-Mazara, who wears his emotions on his sleeve on the court, thought he was pushed and reacted based on that belief, though it didn’t appear to be anything aggressive.

Auburn comes out hot in second half

The areas in which Auburn excelled in the first half are continuing to work out for the Tigers in the second half, at least so far.

Coach Bruce Pearl’s team has made five of its seven shots, including three of its five 3-pointers, in the second half while still putting the clamps on Alabama, which is now missed 16 of its 18 3s today, many of which have been contested.

Auburn’s lead is up to 14, 55-41, with 15:45 left. Johni Broome already has a double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. With five assists, a triple-double is somewhat realistically in play for him. It’s Broome’s 15th double-double in 25 games this season.

Alabama vs Auburn halftime stats

Here’s a look at where things stand statistically at halftime between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Auburn:

Field goal percentage: Auburn 37%, Alabama 31%
3-point percentage: Auburn 32%, Alabama 13%
Free throws: Auburn 8-8, Alabama 9-13
Turnovers: Alabama 5, Auburn 2
Bench points: Auburn 22, Alabama 15
Points in the paint: Alabama 16, Auburn 10
Assists: Auburn 8, Alabama 2

And here are some individual stats for the Crimson Tide and Tigers:

Auburn

Johni Broome: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 4-10 shooting
Chaney Johnson: 12 points, 2 rebounds
Chad Baker-Mazara: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Alabama

Grant Nelson: 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2-7 shooting
Mark Sears: 5 points, 2-8 shooting, 0-5 3-pointers
Cliff Omoruyi: 0 points, 8 rebounds

Halftime: Auburn 42, Alabama 33

Auburn run pushes lead to nine

Alabama was threatening to take its first lead of the game, trailing 35-33 and with the ball with about three minutes left in the first half. In what’s been a game of runs, though, Auburn has ripped off seven unanswered points to take a 42-33 lead right before halftime.

Auburn holding on to six-point lead

The game has followed a familiar rhythm so far. Auburn will build a sizable lead and threaten to break the game open early before Alabama gets within a basket, after which Auburn extends its lead again. At the under-four media timeout, the Tigers are up 35-29.

The Crimson Tide hasn’t looked comfortable offensively for much of the day, making only 11 of its 30 shots and two of its 14 3-pointers. Auburn’s defense deserves some credit in that. The Tigers have been locked in for much of the day so far on that end of the floor. Johni Broome has a game-high 10 points while Chad Baker-Mazara, who also has two fouls, has eight points, four rebounds and two assists.

Mark Sears picks up second foul

A potentially big moment early in the game, with Alabama star guard Mark Sears picking up his second foul with 8:16 remaining in the first half.

It came with his team charging back, having scored five unanswered to get within four, 26-22. Sears got whistled for reaching in while trying to steal the ball from Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara.

It was a slow start offensively for the Crimson Tide, who average 10 made 3-pointers a game, but didn’t sink its first shot from beyond the arc until about nine minutes remaining in the half.

Alabama comes charging back

With the top two teams in the country facing off, you knew it wasn’t going to be a lopsided game for long.

After falling behind 14-4, Alabama goes on a 9-0 run, with four different players pitching in for coach Nate Oats’ team.

Johni Broome gets Auburn out to early lead

Auburn’s all-American is playing like one in his team’s biggest game of the year. Johni Broome has eight points and has made three of his four shots to get the Tigers out to an early 14-6 lead on Alabama.

There was a lid on the basket early for the Crimson Tide, which missed its first six shots while falling behind 9-0.

Pregame

Auburn vs Alabama new start time

With the game between No. 6 Houston and No. 13 Arizona running long, the Auburn vs. Alabama game will now tip off at 4:15 p.m. ET, moved back 15 minutes from its original start time.

Derrion Reid injury update

Alabama forward Derrion Reid is expected to play today against Auburn, according to multiple reports, including from ESPN and the Field of 68, the latter of which cited Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats specifically for the information.

Reid has been an important piece for Alabama this season, averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game off the bench. He had missed the Crimson Tide’s win at Texas on Tuesday while dealing with a leg injury.

Chad Baker-Mazara injury update

Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn’s No. 2 scorer behind Johni Broome, is dressed for the game and taking part in warmups. He was originally listed as probable on the SEC athlete availability report, which has since been changed to a game-time decision.

Baker-Mazara had been dealing with an upper body injury that was aggravated during the Tigers’ practice on Friday.

Alabama student section filled up

If there weren’t enough signs already that this is a huge game, here’s another: Alabama’s student section at Coleman Coliseum was already close to full more than an hour before tip-off.

Who says football schools don’t appreciate good basketball?

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What channel is Auburn basketball vs Alabama on today?

TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)

Alabama and Auburn’s game will air on ESPN. Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Jay Bilas (analyst) will be on the call courtside while Jess Sims will serve as the sideline reporter.

Streaming options for the game include ESPN+, ESPN’s subscription streaming service, and Fubo, the latter of which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Auburn vs Alabama time today

Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)

Alabama and Auburn are scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 15 from Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.

Auburn basketball vs Alabama history

Series record: Alabama leads 102-68
Alabama’s last win: January 2024 (79-75)
Auburn’s last win: February 2024 (99-81)

Alabama has a sizable lead in the all-time series and has won three of the past four meetings.

Auburn vs Alabama predictions

This section will be updated

Auburn vs Alabama betting odds

Odds from BetMGM as of Saturday, Feb. 15

Spread: Alabama (-1.5)
Over/under: 172.5 points
Moneyline: Alabama, -125 | Auburn, +105

Auburn vs Alabama injury updates

Based on the SEC availability report.