Alabama men’s basketball and Auburn men’s basketball are making SEC history Saturday.
The two in-state rivals are facing off as No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP top 25, the first such regular-season matchup in SEC history. Not that this rivalry needed any added juice.
It’s the first of two regular-season matchups this season. The game Saturday will be played at Coleman Coliseum. The game at Neville Arena in Auburn will be played March 8 to close out the regular season.
The Tigers and Crimson Tide are not only two of the best teams in the SEC but also the country. The NCAA Tournament selection committee released its top 16 teams if the season ended today on Saturday, and Auburn held the top overall seed with Alabama in the second overall seed. Both would be No. 1 seeds if the season ended today but in different regions.
Follow along for live updates, score updates, injury news and more.
First half
- 18:02: Johni Broome starts 2-for-2 from deep and helps put Auburn up 9-0.
- 17:44: Grant Nelson hits two free throws to put Alabama on the board. 9-2 Auburn still leads.
- 15:42: Auburn leads 14-6 at the first timeout. Auburn has shot 4-for-7 from deep to fuel the early lead. Meanwhile, Alabama’s 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Broome already has eight points.
- During the timeout, officials reviewed a previous call on Grant Nelson and rewarded him a basket they previously waived off. So score became 14-8 Auburn.
- 13:58: Timeout. Alabama’s on a 6-0 run over 2:37. Meanwhile Auburn has made 1 of its last 7 and is on a 2:55 scoring drought. Auburn still leads 14-10.
- 13:20: Mo Dioubate dunks and brings Alabama within 14-13. A 9-0 run for Alabama over 3:07.
- 11:07: Auburn regains its offensive footing some. The Tigers have made their last three shots and take a 23-17 lead. Alabama has yet to turn the ball over.
- Update: A basket from Auburn that was ruled a 2-pointer was reviewed and turned into a 3-pointer. So it’s 24-17 at the timeout.
- 10:19: First turnover of the game for Alabama is a shot-clock violation. Auburn leads 26-17.
- 8:41 Aden Holloway makes the first triple of the game for Alabama to draw the Crimson Tide within 26-22. Alabama started 0-for-9 from beyond the arc. Coleman Coliseum erupted. Then Jarin Stevenson followed it up with another to bring Alabama within 26-25. That’s an 8-0 run over 1:51 for Alabama.
- 4:00: Timeout. Auburn still leads 35-29. Alabama has drawn close a few times, but the Crimson Tide hasn’t been able to grab a lead at any point yet. Auburn’s made all six of its free throws. Alabama has made 5 of 9.
- 3:38: Dylan Cardwell just picked up his third foul. Derrion Reid hits both free throws and Alabama is down 35-33.
- Auburn started 4 of 7 from 3. Tigers now 5 of 17 with 3 minutes left in first half.
- 2:32: Auburn leads Alabama 37-33.
- 1:23: Alabama has made only one of its past 7 shots. Scoring drought of 2:35. Auburn up 39-33.
- 17.4 seconds: Johnson hits a 3-pointer to give Auburn a 42-33 lead. The Tigers are on a 7-0 run over 2:17.
Alabama basketball injury news
Derrion Reid was labeled as a game-time decision on the SEC availability report before tipoff. He has missed time with a lower-body injury that Alabama coach Nate Oats has described as day-to-day. Multiple outlets reported Saturday that Reid is expected to play.
Auburn basketball injury news
Chad Baker-Mazara is a game-time decision as well on the SEC availability report. He’s been dealing with an upper-body injury.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.