Labaron Philon caught an open pass on the elbow before draining a 3 over a leaping Tre Johnson. From there, the Alabama freshman turned to the Texas crowd, putting three fingers to his face in front of an ear-to-ear smile.

Philon broke out of a five-game slump, scoring 15 points while doling out a team-high four assists to help lead No. 2 Alabama to a 103-80 road win at Texas. More importantly, the star freshman might have regained his swagger ahead of the Crimson Tide’s most important matchup of the season.

Philon shot 6 of 10 against the Longhorns, knocking down 3 of 5 attempts from beyond the arc. That’s a stark contrast to his previous five games, where he combined for just 25 points on 7 of 31 shooting, including a dismal 2 of 14 from deep.

Much of Philon’s recent dip in production can be attributed to an ankle injury he sustained in practice ahead of the Tide’s win against LSU on Jan. 25. However, the mini slide looked as if it was beginning to chip away at his confidence.

Tuesday night, Philon was back to his typical bravado, quieting Moody Center while eliminating any risk of Alabama (21-3, 10-1) falling victim to a trap game against Texas (15-10, 4-8).

Philon’s possible resurgence couldn’t come at a better time, as Alabama hosts top-ranked Auburn this weekend for first place in the SEC standings. If the freshman returns to his typical form, it could serve as the boost the Tide needs in its push for the regular-season conference title.

Philon recorded double-digit scoring in 11 of his first 18 games. Four of those came against teams currently ranked inside the Associated Press top 25. Replicating that performance against an Auburn team that ranks 16th in Ken Pomeroy’s defensive efficiency will be tough. That's not even considering the pressure the Mobile, Alabama native will face heading into his first Iron Bowl of basketball.

Then again, if Philon is feeling it like he was Tuesday night he’ll smile right onto the big stage this weekend.