ESPN's metrics believe Auburn basketball will lose to Alabama

ESPN thinks Alabama will hand Auburn its first SEC loss.

The best rivalry in college football is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in college hoops, and we get to see it this week. 

Auburn will take its 5-0 record in SEC play on the road to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday in what should be a good basketball game. Alabama is 12-6 on the season, but all of the metrics love the Crimson Tide. Alabama is number eight in KenPom, as they have the number one adjusted offense. The problem for this Alabama team has been the defense. While KenPom loves Alabama on the offensive side of things, the defense isn't great, ranked 64th. It's safe to say this game could be high-scoring as both of these offenses are top ten in KenPom. 

ESPN's matchup predictor believes the Alabama Crimson Tide will beat Auburn, handing the Tigers their first loss of SEC play. The numbers from ESPN give Alabama a 63.3% chance to win this ball game in front of their home crowd. Auburn desperately needs a Quad 1 win, and if they can prove ESPN wrong and win this game, it would go a long way for seeding. 

After the win over Ole Miss, Head Coach Bruce Pearl had this to say about how close this Auburn team is, "It's everything, their closeness," Pearl said. "But we haven't had adversity yet. Adversity can build character, but it will reveal it." 

The Iron Bowl of basketball is coming up, and Auburn will be walking into a hectic environment in Tuscaloosa.