Alabama, Auburn meeting in No. 1 vs. No. 2 college basketball clash validates both programs

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Bruce Pearl has told the story so many times it’s practically legend now, memorialized over 17 years as one of the great scenes in the history of college basketball.

For one day in February of 2008, the city of Memphis was the center of the sports universe: The No. 1, undefeated Memphis Tigers vs. the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers. Beale Street was an all-day party. Celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Priscilla Presley were in the crowd. Tickets were impossible to come by. And ESPN was hyping the game all week, building toward a prime time tip-off.

But a couple hours before the game, Pearl – then the Tennessee coach – dipped into a bar near the stadium where the school was holding an alumni event. Surprising the attendees, who expected him to be sequestered away watching that last bit of film, Pearl burst out on stage and declared that his Vols were 40 minutes away from being the No. 1 team in the country.

“We’re going to kick their ass!” he bellowed as the crowd roared.

They did. Tennessee won, 66-62, taking the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history as Pearl and Vols fans celebrated deep into the night.

And then, exactly 72 hours later, Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt. A month after that, it got blown out by Louisville in the Sweet 16. And the Memphis team that lost its unbeaten season, its state championship and the No. 1 ranking that night didn’t lose again until overtime of the national championship game.

Now, more than a decade and a half later, Pearl is the main character in another No. 1 vs. No. 2 epic, another in-state rivalry and another pivot point on the road to a potential national championship.

Ranked No. 2 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll on the back of a 22-2 record, Pearl brings Auburn to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to face 21-3 Alabama, which has reached No. 1 after making last year’s Final Four.

For all the times we’ve seen the Iron Bowl determine SEC and national titles on the football field, this is undoubtedly the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-auburn-meeting-no-1-110711879.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-14 11:07:00

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