Alabama vs. Auburn: The No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup years in the making

On Saturday, No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Auburn will face each other with plenty on the line. The top spot in the SEC standings, the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll, and the top seed in bracketology are all in play when the game tips off.

It is extremely rare that one mid-February game holds so much meaning. But the story of this rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup goes far beyond two great seasons under the best coaching duo in the SEC.

The state of Alabama has invested in college basketball at unprecedented levels, taking big risks along the way which have paid off time after time. Now, it is time for fans on both sides to celebrate the fruits of their labor by pouring everything they have into one regular season game.

‘Iron Bowl’ of Basketball

The Iron Bowl is reserved for football use in the Alabama vs. Auburn rivalry, but that does not stop fans from dragging the name across sports. There were times when the presentation of the trophy from one student body to the other, in a halftime ceremony reminding fans of football season, was the highlight of the evening.

Now, elite basketball is expected every time fans step inside Coleman Coliseum or Neville Arena alike.

The journey from Point A to Point B has been long, and sometimes winding, for Alabama and Auburn which saw value in basketball success and pursued it.

Alabama’s journey

When Bear Bryant wanted the Alabama basketball program to succeed, he called CM Newton. The moved paid off big-time with three SEC titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. That era gave way to Wimp Sanderson, who became the Crimson Tide’s winningest coach and a perineal March Madness contender with a Sweet 16 marking his deepest run.

That era of Alabama’s best basketball produced star players like Robert Horry and Latrell Sprewell.

Then there were the ups and downs under Mark Gottfried, who made the school’s first Elite Eight appearance and reached No. 1 in the polls, but saw the results decline in the late 2000’s before resigning.

Alabama fell into a struggle to contend, missing the NCAA Tournament for five years, then five more after a first-round 2012 exit.

Stuck as a middling SEC team, Alabama made a big splash with former NBA Coach of the Year Avery Johnson. Recruiting and results were a mixed bag, but the team did return to the NCAA Tournament in 2018.

However, in a bold move, the Crimson Tide moved on with their sights aimed higher in 2019. Nate Oats was a young, analytics-focused coach at Buffalo with little attention on him before upsetting Arizona in March. Alabama believed in his model and gave him the keys to the program with the promise of increased resources.

Alabama has since made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, with three trips to the Sweet 16 and the first Final Four berth in program history last year. Alabama has also earned a No. 1 overall seed and spent plenty time at No. 1 in the polls along the way.

Oats has also turned the Crimson Tide into a spot which develops future NBA players in the process with many players now in the professional ranks.

The investment into better basketball has paid off in a major way for Alabama, taking them from an afterthought on campus to a vital part of the athletic department in a short span of success with a sustainable model.

Oats has already returned the favor, taking himself out of the running for multiple outside jobs to set up this No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle.

Auburn’s journey

Auburn basketball has seen high points during its history, with former head coach Sonny Smith at the center of plenty stories. Leading the program from 1978-1989, he was a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances at one point, with an 1986 Elite Eight highlighting his tenure.

Smith also brought Auburn’s most famous alum, Charles Barkley, into the program.

Before that, there was Joel Eaves, who won the SEC Championship in 1960. He is also the all-time winningest coach – for another 13 wins – over Bruce Pearl with 213 over 14 seasons. His 68.1-percent win rate also surpasses any coach in program history. The only other coach with more than 150 wins is Cliff Ellis, who led the program from 1994-2004 and helped them become a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1999.

Then there was a dark time for Auburn basketball. The Tigers did not make an NCAA Tournament appearance for 15 year between 2003 and 2018, including some really lean years in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s.

Desperate to lift the program off the floor of the SEC standings, they made a bold decision to hire former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl, who brought plenty baggage with him. By hiring him with five months left on his NCAA issued show-cause stemming from rules violations, they had to work around restrictions.

The move did not deliver immediate results either. But Auburn trusted that they hired one of the best coaches in college basketball and gave him the time and resources needed over the course of several years. By 2018, that led to an NCAA Tournament berth, and in 2019 it produced the first Final Four run in school history.

Since then, up and down seasons have held a different meaning. Auburn has missed just one postseason since and is primed to make a fourth-straight trip to the big dance this year. Pearl has racked up a number of accolades along the way and has built the list of NBA alums along the way.

Both Auburn and Pearl have evolved in big ways over the years, and that commitment to each other has paid off in big ways. When both sides had chances to start fresh elsewhere, they stuck with the process on the way to becoming No. 1 against their No. 2 in-state rival.

Meeting at the top

Alabama and Auburn at No. 1 vs. No. 2 means more than a big season in the SEC, it showcases once again how rival programs can push each other to invest and succeed at higher levels by taking risks which pay off.

Bruce Pearl has been part of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 before, where Tennessee and Memphis met in 2008. Duke and North Carolina have also met under these circumstances multiple times. The hype of a matchup this big was meant for rivals, and in this case it is.

So as College GameDay covers the stories surrounding Alabama and Auburn, there is an intermingled line which led both to a place where they can compete for all the marbles in front of a massive, fully-engaged crowd.

Fans on both sides should soak in the glory, and let the result drive them to make it happen again.