March 7, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Lavaron Pilon (0) reacts after hitting a 3-pointer in the first half of a game against the Auburn Tigers at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Image Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway each scored 21 points as No. 16 Alabama easily won 96-84 over Auburn in Southeastern Conference action Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Amari Allen had 16 points, London Jemison had 11 points and Aiden Sherrell had 10 points and three blocks as the Crimson Tide (23-8, 13-5 SEC) won for the ninth time in 10 games. Alabama never led by as many as 28 as it defeated the Tigers for the sixth time in the last eight meetings.
In the team’s regular-season finale, Kevin Overton scored 24 points for fading Auburn (16-15, 7-11), its eighth loss in 10 games. The Tigers are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but they haven’t helped themselves with five straight road losses, with three of their previous four coming against unranked foes.
Tahaad Pettiford added 19 points and four steals and Keyshawn Hall had 13 points for Auburn. Elyjah Freeman had 11 points for the Tigers.
Alabama made 52.2% of its field goal attempts, including 7 of 27 3-pointers. The Crimson Tide held a 42-28 rebounding advantage.
Auburn connected on 50.8% of its shots and was 8 of 23 from behind the arc.
With Alabama leading 51-30 at halftime, Pilon scored 16 points in the first half.
The Crimson Tide scored the first eight points of the game and Philon scored 11 of Alabama’s 21 points in the first eight minutes.
Alabama later scored 12 straight points to take a 41-21 lead on two free throws by Holloway with 5:18 left.
The hosts’ lead was 22 points after Jemison’s setback with 4:12 left in the first half.
The game was uncompetitive for most of the second half. Holloway’s 3-pointer made it 67-39 with 14:55 left.
The Tigers trailed by 16 points past the midway point of the first half before the Crimson Tide responded with an 8-2 run. Allen’s layup capped the spurt, making it 79-57 with 7:15 left in the game.
Desperate Auburn kept its starter until the closer after Alabama emptied its bench as it attempted to reduce its margin of loss for NCAA Tournament restart purposes.
–Field level media
