Alabama basketball blown out by Auburn on the road

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Alabama basketball survived the first storm but couldn’t withstand the second. Heading into Saturday’s game against Auburn, Avery Johnson warned his team the Tigers would look to land a “knockout punch” in the opening five minutes. Instead, the deciding blow came during the final 8:30 of the first half as Auburn used a devastating run to cruise to an 84-63 victory.

The loss marks Alabama’s fourth straight defeat inside of Auburn Arena with the past three all coming by 19 points or more.

Alabama (13-8, 4-4 in the SEC) pumped artificial noise into its practice gym the week to prepare for a hostile environment. The strategy appeared as if it was going to pay off early as the Crimson Tide jumped out to an early 7-1 lead after a thunderous dunk from Donta Hall temporarily silenced the home crowd.

However, Auburn (15-6, 4-4) was quick to answer the call. The hot-shooting Tigers caught fire from beyond the arc, hitting five of their first seven 3s as part of a 21-2 run. Alabama responded with a 12-2 run of its own to cut the deficit to 27-23 before Auburn’s unrelenting attack buried the Crimson Tide for good, ending the half on a 19-2 run.

Auburn shot 52 percent from the floor and made 13 of 22 attempts from beyond the arc. However, more often than not, Alabama’s troubles were self-inflicted. The Crimson Tide matched a season-high with 21 turnovers which resulted in 30 points the other way.

John Petty Jr. led Alabama with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting. Freshman Kira Lewis Jr. also put in a solid performance with 13points in his first career game against Auburn. Donta Hall finished a basket away from a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds. Auburn was led by Jared Harper and Bryce Brown, who combined for 42 points, including eight 3s.

Alabama returns home to take on Georgia (10-11, 1-7) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The Crimson Tide dropped its lone meeting with the Bulldogs last season, falling 65-46 in Athens, Ga.

Georgia has lost six of its last seven games and is just 1-5 on the road this season. The Bulldogs are lead by a pair of sophomore forwards in Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton. Hammonds averages a team-high 13 points while pulling in 6.8 rebounds per game. Claxton leads the SEC with 9.3 rebounds per game and is second on the team averaging 12.9 points.

Following the game against Georgia, Alabama hits the road to take on Vanderbilt on Feb. 9.