Auburn Doesn't Hold Back Celebrating Basketball Win Over Alabama

Wendell Green Jr. led five Auburn players in double figures with 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, while Walker Kessler finished with 14 points, 12 boards and eight blocks.

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Feb 2, 2022 2:05 AM EST

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

Auburn Tigers

Even though Alabama basketball was unranked heading into Tuesday night's game, Auburn celebrated its home victory like the Crimson Tide was the No. 1 team in the nation, and not the other way around.

Following the 100-81 victory inside Auburn Arena, both Bruce Pearl and his players did the crane pose that Alabama used to celebrate during the football season. The coach also waved a broom that was handed to him by a fan to signify the regular-season sweep over the rival from Tuscaloosa.

Here's some of what was said during the postgame press conference:

Pearl: "Great team effort. To out-rebound Alabama is significant. It's the sum of our parts once again. I don't know that I've ever had a team where you could take any one of them and I could tell you a story why that kid was the player of the game. This game matters to both teams. It's a great rivalry. It matters to our fans."

Also: "The zone slowed them down and put them on the perimeter," Pearl said. "That and the bench were the difference. Alabama made a nice run to start the second half. Our bench came in and got several stops. The zone was an effective change."

More Pearl: "It means so much because of the respect we have for how good they are. We just beat a team by 19 that's beaten three teams that were in the Final Four last year. It's a good win."

Walker Kesler (who fouled out of Auburn's 81-77 win in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 11): "I wanted this one. I felt like the last game I didn't get the opportunity I wanted. I was pumped for this game. I'm happy we got the sweep of Alabama."

Noted Auburn sports information: Pearl joined Bill Lynn as the only Auburn coaches to lead the Tigers to three home-and-home sweeps over Alabama. Under Lynn, Auburn beat Alabama three straight years from 1969-71. Pearl has led the Tigers to home-and-home rivalry sweeps in 2017, 2019 and this season.

Although Alabama was coming off a win against No. 4 Baylor, it fell to 14-8 on the year and 4-5 in the SEC. Top-ranked Auburn won its 18^th straight contest to improve to 21-1 overall and 9-0 in league play.