No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide Secures Home Victory Against Auburn Tigers Behind Labaron Philon Jr.’s Great Game
Senior Night at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa was supposed to be a celebration for Alabama. It turned into something closer to a demolition derby, and Auburn was the car that didn’t make it out.
The Crimson Tide knocked off Auburn 96-84 on Saturday night, and the final score was a gift. This one wasn’t close. Alabama came out locked in, fired up, and hungry from tip-off. Auburn? Well, Auburn looked like a team that knew exactly how much was on the line and somehow still forgot to show up for the first half.
With the win, Alabama locked up the No. 2 seed in the 2026 SEC Tournament. For Auburn, the loss drops them to 16-15 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
Alabama’s Labaron Philon Jr. Was Simply Unstoppable
There are nights in college basketball where one player just decides the game is his. Saturday night belonged to Labaron Philon Jr., and he made sure everyone inside Coleman Coliseum knew it early.
Philon scored three consecutive baskets after Alabama’s first points of the game and, just to put a bow on the first half, drained a buzzer-beating three as time expired. For dramatic effect alone, that’s a 10 out of 10. Alabama connected on its first six shots of the game and never really looked back.
Philon finished the night with 21 points. Former Auburn Guard Aden Holloway also dropped 21 for Alabama. That had to sting a little extra for the Auburn faithful.
To Auburn’s credit, Tahaad Pettiford was fighting. He had 12 points in the first half alone, and Kevin Overton led all Tigers scorers with 24 points. Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall combined for 32 points on the night, and Elyjah Freeman added 11. But when your team is getting outrebounded 42-28 and surrendering 58 points in the paint, the box score starts to look like a crime scene regardless of who’s scoring.
Alabama Dominated the Paint and Owned the Glass
This is where the game was really decided, and it wasn’t pretty for Auburn. Alabama’s frontcourt was a wrecking crew. The Crimson Tide outrebounded Auburn 42-28, scored 58 points in the paint, and racked up 24 second-chance points. Senior Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. pulled down 7 rebounds. Aiden Sherrell added 6 more to go along with 10 points.
Meanwhile, Auburn went 11-of-16 on layup attempts and scored 32 points in the paint themselves. On paper, that sounds fine. The problem is Alabama nearly doubled that total. Alabama also added 6 blocks and 6 steals, making it nearly impossible for Auburn to get anything going down low all night.
Alabama didn’t even need to shoot lights out from three. The Crimson Tide only hit seven three-pointers on the night. They didn’t need the long ball. They were too busy carving Auburn apart from the inside out.
Head Coach Nate Oats spoke honestly about where his team still needs to improve. “We can’t continue to lose the rebounding battle by 17 and 10 like we’ve just done these last two games and expect to continue to win at a high level,” Oats said. Fair point. Alabama is good enough that those lapses are correctable. Auburn, on the other hand, is running out of games to fix anything.
What Alabama’s Win Means For Auburn’s NCAA Tournament Chances
Here’s where it gets genuinely nerve-wracking for Tigers fans. Auburn heads into the SEC Tournament next week in Nashville sitting at 16-15, with a 4-12 Quad I record and the No. 3 strength of schedule in the country. That resume has some meat on the bones, but a 16-15 record will make it tough.
The saving grace is timing. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, most of the other bubble teams also lost heading into Saturday. So Auburn didn’t fall off a cliff alone. They just took a tumble with company.
Still, the math is uncomfortable. Auburn likely needs at least two wins at the SEC Tournament to secure an at-large bid, possibly as a First Four team. A first-round loss on Wednesday? Season over. Just like that.
Auburn has talent. Kevin Overton, Tahaad Pettiford, and Keyshawn Hall can score. But this team has struggled with consistency all season, and Saturday was another painful example of what happens when Auburn’s energy and effort don’t match the moment.
Alabama Is Rolling Into Nashville With Momentum
While Auburn is scrambling, Alabama is sitting pretty as the No. 2 seed with a double-bye locked in. The Crimson Tide won’t play until the quarterfinal round on Friday, March 13 — giving Oats extra time to tighten things up before the postseason gets serious.
Alabama won eight straight games before a hiccup at Georgia and then bounced back with a crucial road win over Tennessee on Feb. 28 to claim sole possession of second place in the SEC. Saturday’s dominant performance over Auburn was the perfect exclamation point on the regular season.
This is a team that can score with anyone. If Alabama cleans up the rebounding issues Oats mentioned and locks in defensively for 40 minutes at a time, they’re capable of making serious noise both in Nashville and in March.
For now though, all eyes are on Nashville. Alabama comes in with confidence and a clear path forward. Auburn comes in knowing that the tournament dream lives or dies in the next few days.
