Live Updates: No. 8 Alabama Basketball vs Auburn

The Crimson Tide looks to complete a season sweep of the Tigers in its final home game of the season

Second Half

(most recent update at the top)

• FINAL: Alabama 70, Auburn 58

• Britton Johnson picks up his first personal foul, fouling Berman. Berman shoots one and makes it.

• Keon Ambrose-Hylton shoots two free throws after being fouled. He makes his first, misses his second.

• Alabama is clearing the bench for the final minute of play. With exactly 60 seconds to go, Alabama leads Auburn 69-54.

• Thor is fouled by Shackelford on the way up to the basket. That is Shackelford's second personal and Alabama's eighth team foul. Thor misses the free throw, rebounded by Jones.

• Gary tips in a layup. 69-52 Alabama with 1:28 left.

• Gary is called for his first personal. That makes Alabama's seventh team foul.

• Quinerly is now in double digits with 11 points following a layup.

• Flanigan gets a field goal to start the final minutes of the game.

• Shackelford hits his fifth three of the game, assist by Quinerly. Final media timeout of the game.

• Field goal by Johnson.

• Williams picks up his third personal, Auburn's eighth. Jones heads to the line and misses his first, rebounded by Auburn.

• Alabama is now on a 10-0 run over the last 2:25. Petty kicked it off with his three, but Shackelford's two free throws, layup and three-pointer have done the rest. 62-47 Alabama with 5:09 to go.

• Shackelford sinks his fourth three of the game, bringing him to 20 total points in the game. Timeout Auburn.

• Shackelford makes his 16th and 17th points of the game with a layup.

• Make that 23 turnovers.

• Auburn has now tied its season-high in turnovers with 22. Alabama has just six.

• Shackelford sinks both free throws, and just like that Alabama is up 57-47.

• Cambridge is called for his third foul and Auburn's seventh team foul. Alabama is officially in the bonus.

• Petty sinks a three, assist by Jones.

• Thor makes quite an impressive dunk. After a 7-0 run, Alabama's lead has been cut to five. 52-47 Alabama at the under-8 media timeout.

• Reese is called fo his second foul, sending Williams to the line for three free throws. Williams makes all three. The call was an interesting one, as Reese didn't appear to be touching Williams during his shot nor the follow-through.

• Shackelford make a layup after some fancy footwork by Quinerly. Auburn responds with a field goal by Williams. 52-42 Alabama with 9:35 remaining.

• Reese is called for his first personal. Thor makes one of his two free throws.

• Quinerly makes a move and drives through the paint for a layup. 50-39 Alabama.

• Quinerly picks up his first personal. On the ensuing possession for the Tigers, Williams gets a short jumper and is fouled on attempt for an and-one opportunity. Williams misses his free throw.

• Under-12 media timeout with 11:57 to go in the game after Johnson gets called for his third personal. Score remains 48-37 in favor of the Crimson Tide.

• Berman picks up his first personal foul.

• Moore misses both, rebounded by Alabama.

• Jones is called for his first personal foul. Moore to shoot two free throws.

• Three-point basket by Shackelford. He now leads the team in points with 11. 48-37 Crimson Tide.

• Thor gets a Dunk for his first two points of the game.

• Three-point basket by Cambridge. Petty gets his own three on the subsequent Crimson Tide possession.

• After the break, Ellis makes one of his two free throws. Alabama leads by 10.

• Auburn's turnover number has increased to 19. The Tigers' season high of 22 was all the way back on Nov. 30 against UCF in the team's third game of the season.

• Under-16 media timeout after Williams fouls Ellis. The Crimson Tide leads 41-32.

• Dunk by Cardwell.

• Jones gets a layup. 41-30 Alabama.

• Ellis makes a steal on the other end and dives onto the floor to keep the ball from going out of bounds.

• Ellis redeems himself with a field goal after Bruner steals the ball on the opposite end.

• Ellis misses both free throws.

• The officials have ruled it a flagrant against Cardwell. Ellis to shoot two.

• Ellis was fouled on the way up to the basket by Cardwell. The officials are going to review to see if it was flagrant. It looked rough from up here in the press box, but the view on the court might tell a different story.

• Timeout Alabama. Oats called the timeout after the Crimson Tide had trouble inbounding the ball.

• Foul on Cambridge, his first of the game.

• Cambridge hits a deep three. 37-30 Alabama.

• Alabama's ball to start the second half.

Halftime Notes

• The biggest stat of the first half by far was turnovers, with Auburn turning the ball over 15 times compared to Alabama's two. The turnovers have resulted in 17 points for the Crimson Tide, while the Tigers have only managed two.

• Auburn is managing Alabama rather well in the rebound game, with the Tigers out-rebounding the Crimson Tide 24-11.

• Jones and Shackelford are tied for the team-lead in points for Alabama with eight apiece. Jones also leads the Crimson Tide in both rebounds and assists with three and four, respectively.

• Johnson leads Auburn in points with eight. Flanigan leads the Tigers in rebounds with six, with Thor just behind him with five.

First Half

• HALFTIME: Alabama 37, Auburn 27

• Petty makes a last-second three-point attempt, but misses.

• Three-point basket by Cambridge puts the Tigers down by 10. Timeout Alabama with 1.5 seconds remaining on the game clock.

• Johnson gets called for his second personal. Primo makes a trip to the line and makes both of his free throws.

• Ellis picks up his first personal foul, Alabama's sixth team foul. Flanigan shoots two and makes both. 35-24 Crimson Tide.

• Traveling violation for Auburn. Make that 15 turnovers compared to Alabama's two.

• Petty gets issues his second personal of the contest.

• Three point basket by Quinerly. That's his first of the game.

• Flanigan picks up his first personal on the opposite end.

• Flanigan gets a short jumper to put the Tigers down by 10.

• Traveling violation for the Tigers. That makes 14 in the first half.

• Thor fouls Jones, his first personal foul.

• Auburn gets its third shot clock violation of the first half.

• The Tigers are now zero of their last four possessions. Johnson has had a heck of a last few minutes for the Tigers, scoring all eight of his points in three-straight possessions. Johnson holds the points lead for Auburn at the moment, and Jones and Shackelford are tied with eight points apiece to lead Alabama. 3:54 remaining in the first half, Crimson Tide leads 32-20.

• Jump ball, possession awarded to Auburn. Final media timeout of the first half.

• Layup good by Jones.

• Johnson makes his second three of the game. 30-20 Alabama with 5:05 to go in the first.

• Johnson gets a field goal, Shackelford responds with a layup on the ensuing Alabama possession.

• Auburn gets its first three of the game — at the 6:29 mark of the first half. Auburn was 0-for-4 prior to the basket by Johnson.

• Rojas with the steal, Johnson fouls Petty on the opposite end. Jones gets a layup after the inbound. 28-12 Crimson Tide with 6:42 to go.

• James Rojas picks up his first personal foul.

• Media timeout. At the 7:54 mark of the first half, Alabama is on a 12-2 run. In other trends, Auburn has turned the ball over five times over the last 4:19. 26-12 Alabama.

• Dunk by Cardwell, but Jones responds on the subsequent possession with a dunk of his own.

• Thor for Auburn picks up his first personal foul and Auburn's first team foul. Jones will inbound for the Crimson Tide.

• Shackelford nails his second three of the game, assist by Quinerly.

• Auburn gets its second shot clock violation of the game. Turnover in favor of Alabama. Timeout Tigers.

• Shackelford gets his first three of the night, assisted by Ellis.

• Juwan Gary scores a layup in his first minute in the game as well.

• During the media break, the three-pointer by Ellis was changed to a two. 16-10 Crimson Tide with 11:28 to go.

• The Crimson Tide is currently shooting 44 percent from the floor and is 44 percent from beyond the arc. Alabama has still only turned the ball over once — an offensive foul called on Shackelford. Auburn, on the other hand, has seven turnovers resulting in eight points for the Crimson Tide.

• Shot clock violation by Auburn. Under-12 media timeout.

• Dunk by Williams, but Quinerly responds at the opposite end right way with a layup.

• Layup qood by Quinerly. 15-8 Crimson Tide at the 12:56 mark.

• Jones takes the ball all the way down the court and drives through the lane for the flush.

• Petty fouls Cardwell, who heads to the line and makes both free throws. 11-8 Crimson Tide.

• Two points off of a layup by Cambridge.

• Three point basket by Keon Ellis. He hasn't even been in the game for a full minutes. 11-4 Alabama.

• With 15:58 to go in the first half, Alabama has had zero turnovers and two steals. Ball control seems to have been a big factor in the team's practices since Saturday. However, the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide in turnovers at a margin of 7-0.

• Primo picks up his first personal foul. Media timeout.

• Three point basket by Petty, assisted by Jones once again.

• Jaylin Williams gets the dunk for the Tigers. 5-4 Crimson Tide.

• After a missed basket by Auburn, Alabama takes it down the court for a three by Bruner.

• Herb Jones tosses the rock up for a slam by John Petty Jr., and the Crimson Tide scores the first points of the game.

Pregame

• Tonight's officials: Doug Shows, K.B. Burdett, Wil Howard.

• Auburn freshman guard Sharife Cooper warmed up with the team out on the court. He has been nursing an ankle injury that has kept him off the court in games since Feb. 21.

• Tonight's starters for Alabama: Herb Jones (W), Jordan Bruner (F), Jaden Shackelford (G), Josh Primo (G), John Petty Jr. (G).

#BamaFirstFive pic.twitter.com/1nv7Bl8b2A

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 2, 2021

• Auburn's starting five: Jamal Johnson (G), J.T. Thor (F), Allen Flanigan (G), Jaylin Williams (F), Devan Cambridge (G).

Starting 🖐

1️⃣ @_jamaljohnson
1️⃣0️⃣ @thorrjt
2️⃣2️⃣ @Allen_Flanigan2
2️⃣3️⃣ @iso__jaywill
3️⃣5️⃣ @DevanCambridge#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/qLM9CkT6f9

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 2, 2021

• Nate Oats stopped by and exchanged words with Bruce Pearl prior to the start of the game:

Nate Oats and Bruce Pearl swapped pleasantries pregame: pic.twitter.com/dSiit1gyDp

— Joey Blackwell (@_JoeyBlackwell) March 2, 2021

Game Preview

After clinching the regular-season SEC title with its win over Mississippi State on Saturday night, there's not much time for celebration for No. 6 Alabama basketball.

The Crimson Tide now gears up for its final home game of the season — Tuesday night matchup against in-state rival Auburn that will see Alabama seeks its first season sweep of the Tigers since 2015.

While a loss won't hurt Alabama in terms of seeding in the SEC Tournament, there is still a lot on the line for the Crimson Tide regarding the NCAA Tournament. Alabama is currently projected by most bracketologists as a 2-seed and is No. 6 in the AP Top 25 as of Sunday. With two games in the regular season in addition to the SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide still needs to do some preventive maintenance work if it wants to be seeded where it currently is.

Alabama's loss at Arkansas most likely won't hurt them in terms of March Madness seeding, but another loss before the end of the regular season would make it two losses in two weeks — not exactly a good look heading into the postseason.

For Auburn, the Tigers don't have anything on the line thanks to its self-imposed postseason ban. However, with Tuesday night's game being the biggest of the season remaining and with the Crimson Tide seemingly replacing the Tigers as the top college basketball program in the state, Auburn will most likely be out for blood.

Currently, Alabama sits at a 19-6 record and is 14-2 in conference play. On the other side of the state, Auburn is 12-13 overall and is 6-10 in the SEC. The Tigers, like the Crimson Tide, have two games left in the regular season to bring their record up to above .500 and will not let Alabama go quietly.

No. 6 Alabama vs Auburn

Where: Coleman Coliseum

When: 6 p.m. CT, Tuesday

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network

Online: ESPN.com

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide defeated Mississippi State 64-59 on Saturday night at Humphrey Coliseum, clinching the SEC regular-season title. Sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly led Alabama in points with 19, including three-of-six from beyond the arc. Senior wing Herb Jones, while only recording two points, registered the most rebounds for the Crimson Tide with 14.

Last time out, Auburn: The Tigers upset No. 25 Tennessee on Saturday night, defeating the Volunteers 77-72 in Auburn Arena. All five of Auburn's starters registered double-digit points, with Allen Flanigan recording the most with an impressive 23 points. The win snapped a three-game SEC losing streak, and with two games to go before the end of the regular season, the Tigers will be out to end the season on a high note due to its self-imposed postseason ban.

The series: Tuesday night's meeting will be the 164th between the two teams on the hardwood, the fourth-most games Alabama basketball has played against any opponent. Alabama owns a 97-66 edge over Auburn, and over the last decade Coleman Coliseum has been a difficult place to play for the Tigers — since 2011, Alabama is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings between the two teams when the Crimson Tide plays in its own arena.

More on the last meeting: Back on Jan. 9, all five of Alabama's starters – led by freshman guard Josh Primo — registered double-digit points and combined for 82 points in the Crimson Tide's 94-90 victory over the Tigers in Auburn Arena. Grad-student forward Jordan Bruner also recorded 20 points — including three-of-six from beyond the arc — and also tallied seven rebounds in Alabama's first win at Auburn since 2015.

This story will be updated throughout the evening with live updates, stats and analysis.