College Basketball Game of the Week: Auburn vs. Alabama

A classic SEC rivalry is reignited on Wednesday night when the No.16 Alabama Crimson Tide rolls into Auburn to take on the No.12 Tigers. Alabama claimed victory in the last meeting between these two teams on Jan. 24 in a 79-75 triumph.

The Crimson Tide go into this matchup riding a 10-1 stretch over the last 11 games, with their only loss coming at No.6 Tennessee. Alabama has found its stride after hitting rock bottom earlier this season in a three-game winless gauntlet against Purdue, Creighton and then Arizona.

For Auburn, the Tigers have dropped two of their last four games after looking like one of the best teams in the nation throughout the first three months of the season. The blue and orange are hoping that a 91-77 win over Ole Miss on Saturday will set the team back on the right track.

The Crimson Tide are led by senior guard Mark Sears, a prolific scorer and outside shooter who has tallied at least 20 points in his last five games. Sears has been given the lead role in the Alabama offense since the departure of the No.2 overall pick in the NBA draft Brandon Miller. Sears is joined by a committee of high-volume three-point shooters that account for 11.4 long-range pulls per game, which is fourth highest in the nation.

While Alabama is an offensive-minded club, the Tigers of Auburn aspire to win games on the defensive end. Bruce Pearl has led his club to the 19th-highest defensive rating in the country while still posting 82.4 points per contest. The Tigers move the ball and feed their forwards Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams, the only double-digit scorers on the roster. The 6-foot-10 forward Johni Broome has become one of the most noteworthy players in the SEC this season. Broome posts a stat line of 15.7 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game and a stifling 2.3 blocks per game.

For Alabama, the challenge on Wednesday night will be finding the weaknesses in the stubborn Auburn defense. However, the Crimson Tide have the highest-scoring offense in the country posting an eye-popping 89.9 points per game.

The Auburn guards will have their hands full defensively while trying to neutralize the scoring of Mark Sears and limiting the three-point shooting of the Crimson Tide's outside shooters.

In the previous meeting between these two teams three weeks ago, Johni Broome posted 25 points and 14 rebounds despite an Auburn loss. The Tigers hit on only five of 25 three-point attempts.

For Alabama, Mark Sears posted a 9-21 shooting slip in which he poured in 22 points, and the Crimson Tide hit on 11 of 30 three-point attempts.

Although Auburn has proved itself to be one of the most promising teams in the country, it is still in the search for a statement victory over a top-20 team.

Sketch Morton is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email Sam7539@psu.edu