#8 Alabama vs Auburn Game Thread

Your 2021 SEC Champion Crimson Tide takes the floor for the final time in Coleman Coliseum tonight, as the lowly Auburn Tigers come to town (along with mortal enemy to Tide Hoops and fans of fun college basketball everywhere, Doug Shows). As the calendar has now flipped to March, Alabama must now gear up for deep runs in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. That starts tonight, when the Tide will try to send the seniors out triumphantly with a sweep of Auburn for the first time since the 2015 season.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Tigers are mentally. On one hand, this is their Super Bowl, and Bruce Pearl knows how to fire a team up. On the other, there is nothing for Auburn to play for at this point, with their season ending this Saturday regardless of the outcome of either remaining game. It appears that Sharife Cooper, a one-and-done superstar with nothing to gain from playing, is warming up for the opening tip. He’s a free throw baiting machine, so the Cooper-Shows combo could be an extremely dangerous one for Alabama.

The Tide will likely start John Petty, Herbert Jones, Jaden Shackelford, Jordan Bruner, and Alex Reese tonight, with four of them playing their final game in Coleman Coliseum. Alabama was a 11-point favorite, but that number could have come back significantly with the growing momentum that Cooper will suit up tonight.

The game tips at 6:00 PM CST and will be televised on ESPN2.