Takeaways: Auburn falters late, loses to No. 3 Alabama

AUBURN — ESPN’s College GameDay showed up inside Neville Arena, so did The Jungle and everyone else to see No. 3 Alabama and Auburn do battle. It was loud, raucous and entertaining, but in the end, the Tigers fell short.

Auburn led for over 24 minutes in the game, but Alabama led when it mattered the most: at the end.

The final: Auburn 69, Alabama 77.

RELATED: PROJECTING AUBURN’S REMAINING SCHEDULE

It’s Auburn’s fifth loss in the last six games, with four coming by an average of just over four points per game. The single-digit win by Alabama marks just the second time during conference play the SEC’s best team has won by just single digits.

The two teams will meet again in Tuscaloosa on March 1 for the rematch. Before today, the last Alabama win inside a sold-out Neville Arena was 2015. The Tide’s win in 2021 was with limited capacity due to Covid restrictions.

Auburn is now 6-6 in games decided by single digits on the season.

“We put ourselves in position, again, to win the game,” Bruce Pearl said after the loss. “We just didn’t make shots at times, that’s just part of it. I thought in the last six minutes or so, our defense just wasn’t as good in the second half as it was in the first half.”

RELATED: COLLEGE GAMEDAY PHOTO GALLERY

As always, here’s Takeaways from the tough home loss.

— Auburn entered the bonus with over six minutes left in the first half and was able to get 12 points off free throws in the first half alone. Coming off a game where their opponent shot 25 more FT attempts, it was imperative that the Tigers produce more opportunities from the line. Auburn finished +9 in the free throw category tonight, but allowed 11 more attempts to Alabama in the second half than in the first.

“…Sending them to the foul line 17 times in the second half, we fouled too much,” Pearl said. “We sent Texas A&M to the foul line 39 times. We’ve got to defend without fouling.”

— Alabama is currently ranked No. 1 in the country in rebounds per game. Tonight, though, the Tigers were able to outperform the Tide by two in the category, finishing with 36 total rebounds. Alabama, however, outperformed in defensive rebounds (which they also lead the country in) with 28 to Auburn’s 20.

— In the first half, Jaylin Williams made as many free throws (3) as the entire Alabama team and finished three for six. The senior had a strong first half with 14 points, but didn’t produce nearly as much in the second half, finishing with 16 points.

“Early, they were sagging off a little bit, giving me a little bit too much space,” Williams said. “Catch and stick. The shots were there. I mean, I’ve been in the gym almost every day… working on that same ‘catch and stick’ shot.”

— One of Auburn’s main goals tonight was to force Alabama to get more creative and make fewer three-point attempts. Tonight, the Tide shot just 29% from beyond the arc, much less than their season average of 35.3%. The Tigers made one more three-point attempt.

“The way you do that is (by) not giving them transition. I know Coach Oats would rather play much faster than they did tonight,” Pearl said on their game plan. “We did a good job controlling the tempo in that way. You sort of have to pick your poison a little bit.”

— Auburn needed to contain Alabama’s leading scorer Brandon Miller, who averages 19 points per game this season. The starting forward went 0-for-7 beyond the arc but still finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

— Wendell Green Jr. recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season against Texas A&M on Tuesday. Tonight, he extended that to five games, finishing with 24 points. The junior made six of eight free throw attempts and had two steals, tied for the team-high.

— This season, K.D. Johnson has had a handful of highs and lows. Tonight, however, he scored six points on three straight possessions in the first half and continued to produce offensively throughout the entire game. Averaging just 8.1 points per game this season, the junior finished up with 12 points, shooting 100% from the free throw line. He was also second on the team with seven rebounds and tied for first in steals with Green and Williams with two.

— The Tigers are always needing to limit turnovers in their game in order to keep the matchups close. Tonight, they were able to finish +3 in the turnover margin, gaining 17 points off turnovers. Alabama finished with just nine points of Auburn’s 11 turnovers.