No. 1 Auburn Sends Early Message to No. 2 Alabama in 94-85 Win

In a first-ever clash of SEC teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country, it was Auburn who came out on top of Alabama 94-85 in Tuscaloosa.

The Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead on the back of a pair of 3-pointers from Johni Broome, and head coach Bruce Pearly understood the importance of a fast start.

“I think what it does is it sends a message that we came here with the idea that we’re going to try to win the game. That we knew we’d have to play really well,” said of Auburn’s mentality heading to Tuscaloosa.

While the opening statement may verge into Captain Obvious territory, Pearl expanded on his comment. It wasn’t just that Auburn wanted to win the game and would need to play well, they needed to play well early.

“Look, you’ve got to play well early on the road,” Pearl expanded. “If you’re going to win, you can’t give the home team any kind of momentum.”

Despite the early lead, Pearl knew Alabama would make a run at the Tigers. Alabama managed to erase double-digit leads in both halves and saw the game tied at 68 with 7:23 left in the second.

“As you would expect Alabama came you storming me back, and this place… I’ve never heard Coleman this loud,” Pearl said appreciatively of the Crimson Tide home crowd.

Auburn took command of the game after it was tied. They went on an 8-1 run and never relinquished.

“We made eight of our last 10 field goals,” said Pearl “That’s how you close out a game. I think what our locker room feels good about right now is that so many guys contribute.”

Broome opened the game strong, but it was a 3-pointer from Chad Baker-Mazara that made the score 71-68 and put the Tigers up for good.

“We just didn’t panic late in the game,” said Pearl.

Auburn had six players in double figures, with no one scoring more than Broome’s 19 on either team. Broome is the leader for several player of the year awards, but this is a deep, talented, experienced team.

They’ll need players to step up to make a tournament run as stars inevitably have an off night over the course of a six-game NCAA tournament run.

Starting fast and finishing faster is a pretty good formula for winning.