Published Feb 11, 2023
How to watch: No. 3 Alabama basketball at Auburn
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Tony Tsoukalas  •  TideIllustrated
Managing Editor
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@Tony_Tsoukalas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 3 Alabama basketball is taking its perfect SEC record to the Plains. The Crimson Tide (21-3, 11-0) will look to continue its historic run on Saturday as it travels across the state to take on rival Auburn (17-7, 7-4).

The two teams are currently headed in opposite directions as Alabama has won 12 of its last 13 games while Auburn has dropped four of its last five outings. Still, a trip to Neville Arena won’t be easy as the Crimson Tide has lost five of its last six games at Auburn.

Here's everything you need to know about Saturday’s matchup.

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How to watch

Who: No. 3 Alabama (21-3, 11-0 in the SEC) at Auburn (17-7, 7-4)

When: 1 p.m. CT, Saturday, Feb. 11

Where: Neville Arena, Auburn, Ala.

Watch: ESPN (play-by-play: Dan Shulman; analyst: Jay Bilas; sideline: Holly Rowe)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink; engineer Tom Stipe)

Alabama's projected starters

Jaden Bradley: 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, freshman

Stats: 7.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 42.1% FG, 31.6% 3-pt

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior

Stats: 13.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 42.6% FG, 38.6% 3-pt

Brandon Miller: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, freshman

Stats: 19.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 45.7% FG, 44.4% 3-pt

Noah Clowney: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds, freshman

Stats: 10.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 0.8 apg, 48.8% FG, 27.3% 3-pt

Charles Bediako: 7-foot, 225 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 5.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.6 apg, 59.8% FG

Auburn's projected starters

Wendell Green Jr.: 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, junior

Stats: 13.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 37.8% FG, 28.2% 3-pt

Zep Jasper: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, senior

Stats: 3.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.5 apg, 34.1% FG, 29.6% 3-pt

Allen Flanigan: 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, senior

Stats: 9.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 44.9% FG, 32.9% 3-pt

Jaylin Williams: 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, senior

Stats: 10.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 46.1% FG, 36.6% 3-pt

Johni Broome: 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 13.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 52.9% FG, 18.8 3-pt

High praise from the Plains 

Brandon Miller’s stellar season hasn’t gone unnoticed by the head coach across the state. Earlier this week, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was quick to compliment the five-star freshman, comparing Miller to former Auburn forward Jabari Smith, who was selected No. 2 overall by the Houston Rockets in last year’s NBA Draft.

“He can score on all three levels,” Pearl told reporters Thursday. “He may have been 6-7 in high school. He’s legitimately 6-9 now, and he's a 6-9 two-guard. He presents just enormous challenges as far as how you guard them and whether you can switch or not because he’ll take advantage. He’ll just take advantage of matchups.”

Miller has been the leading force behind Alabama’s dominance this season, topping the Crimson Tide with 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 44.4% from beyond the arc. His 19 points per game are the most by any college freshman and rank No. 38 in the nation.

Miller came to Alabama as the No. 17 overall player and No. 7 small forward in last year’s class. Pearl tried his best to bring the Antioch, Tennessee native to Auburn. However, Miller, the son of former Alabama football player Darrell Miller, always had his heart set on playing for the Crimson Tide. Still, the offer from Pearl stands out when the freshman looks back at his recruiting process.

“It was always in my head that I had the offer,” Miller said. “I would like to thank him for even taking the time out of his day to come watch me play or just recruit or just have his assistants reach out to me. I feel like he’s a great guy – actually, I know he’s a great guy. It should be a fun place to play at, playing against him. I’m sure it’ll be fun for me and him.”

Clowney cleared to play

Alabama won’t be missing Noah Clowney in its starting lineup. The freshman forward left Wednesday’s game against Florida after suffering a facial injury in the second half. However, he did not sustain a concussion and was cleared by team doctors earlier this week.

“He’s had two good days of practice,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Friday. “We practiced light yesterday and then we went a little harder tonight. He was good in both.”

Clowney has started in all 23 of his appearances for the Crimson Tide this season. The 6-foot-10, 210-pound forward is averaging 10.0 points and ranks second on the team with 8.1 rebounds per game.

Games notes

— Alabama has won 10 SEC games by double digits, which is the second-most in program history behind the 1955-56 team that recorded 11 such wins in conference play.

— Alabama is looking to improve to 22-3, which would match the program’s best-ever record through 25 games set by the 1975-76 team.

— Alabama sits at No. 3 in the AP Top-25 poll, which is the highest ranking in program history this late into the season.

— The Crimson Tide is the only Power 5 team remaining with an unbeaten record in conference play.

— Auburn forward Johni Broome has positioned himself as one of the top big men in the SEC. He is currently on a six-game double-digit scoring streak including three double-double performances against Texas A&M (18 points and 10 rebounds), South Carolina (27 points and 11 rebounds) and Georgia (19 points and 18 rebounds).

— The Tigers rank No. 7 nationally and second in the SEC in blocks per game (5.7) behind its twoheaded monster of Broome (8th, 2.7 bpg) and Dylan Cardwell (62rd, 1.6 bpg).

— Auburn has had 12 straight capacity crowds of 9,121 this season. The Tigers also boast 35-consecutive regular-season capacity crowds (minus the COVID season in 2020-21).