Auburn pushed its lead to as many as 18 in the first half, but Alabama didn't easy. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a strong start in the second half and closed the lead to two, but Auburn jumped from there. Jaylin Williams made a layup and Wendell Green Jr. hit a triple and Auburn never looked back.
The Tigers ended up putting up 100 points after walk-on Carter Sobera hit a 3-point play in the final minute to make it a 100-81 victory.
Takeaways from Auburn's win over Alabama:
Dominating the paint
Over half of Auburn's points came from inside against Alabama, with 52 points in the paint for the Tigers.
It was a game of the guards attacking the inside, and the bigs doing work on the inside, too.
On the flip side, Alabama had just 22 points in the paint. Granted, Alabama is more of a 3-point-oriented team, but a 30-point difference is still a rather significant one.
"We always feel like we should beat the opposing team on boards," Walker Kessler said. "Then, as far as the defensive end, controlling the paint, blocking shots, contesting shots, making layups tough to make. Yeah, I wouldn’t say we really emphasized it; we just kind of did what we did and got the win.”
The Wendell Green Jr. slump was short lived
Auburn's sixth man in Wendell Green Jr. had just six points against Missouri and two points against Oklahoma, while shooting below 30 percent in his past three games.
A mini-slump, if you will.
He broke out of that mini-slump in a big way on Tuesday night, going for a season-high 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
In two games against Alabama, Green went for 19 points in Tuscaloosa and 23 points Tuesday night.
“I would just say personally, for me, I had a rough two past games, and I knew this was a big one," Green said. "So, I just wanted to come out here for my teammates and show them I could do what I do. They kept telling me all weekend to just get back to myself. That’s what I tried to do tonight, and it worked out.”
After the game Bruce Pearl noted Green's two big performances, and noted that Alabama guards were on a lot of pre-season teams and lists, while Auburn guards were not.
"You want to be the best? You’ve got to go against the best," Pearl said. "Those guys, I believe, were both first-team, first or second-team all-conference in the preseason. … None of our guards were first, second, third, fifth team. So I think, look, that matters to our players. I think Wendell was excited about playing tonight."
Big Walk makes a big difference
Walker Kessler getting into foul trouble was a big storyline during the first game. He fouled out in 13 minutes and scored just two points. It put a ton of pressure on Dylan Cardwell, who did end up performing well, but obviously Auburn is much better with Kessler than without.
Case and point: Tuesday's game. Kessler didn't get into foul trouble until late in the game and he scored 14 points and added 12 rebounds, eight blocks and four steals.
“I wanted this one, because I felt like last game I didn’t get the opportunity I wanted to against Alabama," Kessler said. "I was pumped for this game. I was amped, and I was happy the refs let me play.”
The difference Kessler makes on both ends of the floor has made him the most important player on this team. Auburn is a different animal when he is on the floor defending the basket.
The best game of Auburn's season?
Up to this point, Auburn's always had one thing that held them back in pretty much every game. From a slow start to a second half lull that allowed the opposition back in it, Auburn has struggled at some point in most games.
Now, Auburn did come out slow to start and Alabama made a run to open up the second half, but Tuesday night felt like the most complete performance this team has put together.
Which ended up in 100 points, so all-in-all a good performance from Auburn and a boost to the team before a road trip to Athens.
"This game matters"
The brooms were broken out, Reverse Rammer Jammer was blasting in Auburn and the Tigers were doing the "Crimson Crane" karate kick to celebrate Auburn's win.
A rivalry win is always big, and Bruce Pearl knows that.
"This game matters for both teams. It's a great rivalry," Pearl said. "I have got tremendous respect for Nate and his program, and this game matters. It matters to our fans, but I think because there's so much respect between the players and the coaches.
"I told our guys, 'If Alabama came in and beat us tonight and they did the, whatever that crane thing is that we do, that we started doing, I wouldn't be upset by that. I would be disappointed if they didn't do it.' That's kind of what a rivalry's all about, and I'm glad the students and the student-athletes are having fun with it."
