Alabama vs Auburn basketball: Highest-ranked matchups between Crimson Tide, Tigers

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On Saturday, Alabama and Auburn will renew their heated rivalry in a matchup featuring two of the best teams in the sport, with the winner picking up not only hard-earned bragging rights, but a victory to validate their national championship aspirations.

The game won’t be taking place on a football field, though.

With just over a month remaining until Selection Sunday, the Crimson Tide and Tigers have established themselves as arguably the two best teams in men’s college basketball during the 2024-25 season. Their meeting Saturday will pit No. 1 Alabama against No. 2 Auburn, marking the first time in SEC history there’s been a conference game between the top two teams in the country (the bitter rivals are reversed in the Associated Press top 25, with the Tide at No. 2 and the Tigers at No. 1).

REQUIRED READING: Score prediction for Alabama basketball vs Auburn: Picks, injury updates and more

Though they don’t attract the same attention or interest as the football programs at the respective schools, Alabama and Auburn aren’t historical slouches in basketball. Long before Nate Oats arrived and the program made its first-ever Final Four last year, the Tide was a consistent force nationally under Wimp Sanderson throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. The Tigers were the program of Charles Barkley, and enjoyed a brief run near the top of the sport in the late 1990s under Cliff Ellis.

Saturday’s much-anticipated matchup at Coleman Coliseum raises an understandable question — is there anything close to a historical parallel for this?

Here’s a closer look at previous games between Alabama and Auburn in which both teams were ranked:

Have Alabama and Auburn basketball ever played when both teams were ranked?

Indeed, Saturday’s game will be the sixth time Alabama and Auburn men’s basketball have ever played with both teams ranked in the top 25 nationally.

It’s been a more common occurrence lately, with three of those soon-to-be six contests taking place since January…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-vs-auburn-basketball-highest-120520067.html

Author : The Tuscaloosa News

Publish date : 2025-02-15 12:05:00

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