TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For the first time in the Nate Oats era, Alabama failed to lead at any point during a game inside Coleman Coliseum. The No. 2 ranked Crimson Tide dug its way into an early 9-point deficit and was never able to take control of the game from there in its 94-85 loss to top-ranked Auburn on Saturday.
But there were certainly opportunities.
Alabama chipped away at Auburn’s lead several times throughout the day, even tying the game twice midway through the second half. However, every time the Tide crept back, the Tigers were quick to snuff out momentum with a run of their own.
When trailing by 3 points or fewer, Alabama shot just 3 of 12 from the floor, including 1 of 5 from beyond the arc. That stat was as puzzling to head coach Nate Oats as it was to watch play out on the floor.
“Maybe you give some credit to Auburn,” Oats said. “When it was a tight game, they were playing hard, forcing us into tough shots. They’re a good defensive team, and they put together a good game plan. When there’s a tight game, we’ve got to do a better job finding better shots.”
Alabama wasn’t much better on the defensive end when the game got close. When leading by 3 points or fewer, Auburn sunk 8 of 18 shots, including an impressive 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Those clutch buckets helped snap Alabama runs while jumpstarting offensive spurts at the opposite basket, sucking the life out of the home crowd in the process.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Auburn forward Johni Broome said. “So we know they were a good team. They’re No. 2 for a reason. So they’re gonna make some shots especially when they’re playing at home. It’s about how we bounce back and we had to weather the storm.”
Auburn answered right back each of the times Alabama tied the game up in the second half. After Tide forward Grant Nelson’s dunk evened the game up at 65, Auburn guard Tahaad Petiford responded with a 3 two possessions later.
When Alabama guard Chris Youngblood evened things up eight seconds later, Auburn wing Chad Baker-Mazara silenced the crowd with a 3 of his own during the Tigers’ next time up the court. Following a miss by Youngblood, Baker-Mazara hit another jumper as part of a momentum-crushing 7-0 run for Auburn.
Baker-Mazara was one of five Tigers with multiple 3s on the night, as Auburn shot 12 of 30 (40%) from beyond the arc.
“We need to do a little better job executing the game plan. We need to do a better job putting together a little better game plan as coaches the next time we play them.”
Alabama’s momentum was brought to a similar halt in the final 3:38 of the first half. After cutting Auburn’s lead to 35-33, the Tide didn’t score for the remainder of the period, allowing the Tigers to close the half on a 7-0 run.
Oats, a former high school math teacher, compiled Alabama’s inability to start and close halves into a frustrating equation.
There was the 9-0 run Auburn pulled out to begin the game. Then there was the 7-0 run the Tigers used to close out the half. Auburn increased its 9-point lead to 14 heading out of the break, so there’s another 5 points. Finally, there was the 9-point advantage the Tigers closed the game on after the Tide evened things up at 68 with 7:23. All together, that’s a 30-point advantage for the Tigers
“We talk about starts and closes to the half a lot,” Oats said. “And we did an awful job, and they did a great job.”
With the loss, Alabama (21-4, 10-2) no longer controls its destiny in the SEC standings, as it fell a game behind Auburn (23-2, 11-1). Still, the regular-season conference title race is within reach if the Tide can come through in the crunch-time part of its schedule.
Alabama will close out the regular season with six games against ranked opponents, including another crack at Auburn on the road on March 8.
“They’re a good team, we know that,” Oats said of Auburn. “They proved they were the No. 1 team in the country. We were not today, but we move on. We’ve got six games left before the SEC tournament, and we’ve got to be great in all six.”
