Alabama vs. Auburn set to host ESPN College GameDay ahead of potenital top-three matchup

ESPN College GameDay will head to Tuscaloosa for the top-three showdown between No. 1 Auburn and No. 3 Alabama on Saturday, Feb. 15.

This will be the first time one of Alabama men’s basketball’s games will host ESPN College GameDay this season, while it will be Auburn’s second. The Tigers previously hosted ESPN’s flagship pregame show for their game on Jan. 25 against then No. 6 Tennessee.

For Alabama, the Crimson Tide are 8-1 in SEC play and have won their last five games heading into the weekend. However, they’re 13-1 dating back to late November as many teams haven’t found a way to keep up with Alabama’s scoring volume.

Meanwhile, Auburn has largely looked like one of the most dominant teams in the country and they sit alone atop the conference standings. They’re undefeated in SEC play heading into the weekend.

However, both teams have two games to play before that meeting takes place.

Alabama will take on John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday night on the road, which isn’t a given as the Hogs have caught fire as of late after going 2-0 on their most recent road trip. After that, they’ll travel to Texas for a mid-week road trip.

For Auburn, they headline the Feb. 8 weekend slate against No. 6 Florida. They’ll also be on the road this coming Tuesday and will play a tricky Vanderbilt team who has wins over multiple ranked SEC opponents so far this season.

Tip-off for the matchup is set for 4 p.m. ET live from inside Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama vs. Arkansas preview

No. 3 Alabama travels to Fayeteville for a Saturday night tip-off to take on an Arkansas team that has won its last two matchups.

The Crimson Tide are 8-1 in SEC play and have won their last five games heading into the weekend. However, they’re 13-1 dating back to late November as many teams haven’t found a way to keep up with Alabama’s scoring volume.

For the Razorbacks, they’ve won back-to-back games in SEC play for the first time this season. They beat down a ranked Kentucky team before going on to defeat Texas 78-70 on Wednesday. Both wins for John Calipari’s squad came on the road.

Entering Saturday’s matchup, the Crimson Tide (-205) are a 5.5-point favorite over Arkansas (+172) on the road, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

The over/under total is set at 164.5 points.