{"id":87520,"date":"2025-02-14T10:37:17","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T10:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alabama\/xs-and-oats-no-1-bama-vs-no-1-auburn-at-stake-everything\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T10:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T10:37:17","slug":"xs-and-oats-no-1-bama-vs-no-1-auburn-at-stake-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=87520","title":{"rendered":"Xs and Oats: No. 1 \u2018Bama vs. No. 1 Auburn. At stake? Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n \"NCAA
Julie Bennett-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The SEC\u2019s first-ever meeting of No. 1 vs. No. 2…and certainly No. 1 vs. No. 1<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need much preamble for this one. <\/p>\n

Two schools that loathe one another, two coaches that do not much care for one another, the highest ranked vs. ranked matchup in SEC history. College Gameday on campus. Kids ditching classes and sleeping on the lawn Tickets going for thousands <\/em>in the lower bowl. Two of the best coaches in college ball. Two of its highest paid. Two standout recruiters. <\/p>\n

The winner climbs over the corpse of the other to stake supremacy in the country\u2019s most difficult conference. <\/p>\n

And, for one night at least, the nation\u2019s basketball fortunes run through the Heart of Dixie.<\/p>\n

\n

\nTale of the Tape: <\/strong>
No. 1 \/ 2 Auburn vs. No. 1 \/ 2 Alabama<\/strong>
\n<\/h3>\n

Spread: Disrespectful AF. \u2018Bama +5.5 on their home floor. It\u2019s dropping like a rock though \u2014 down to +1.5 at some books.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opponent KenPom:<\/strong> 1 (1 offense, 17 defense, 131 tempo)
Opponent Evan Miya: <\/strong> 3 (1 offense, 10 defense, 118 tempo)
Opponent Bart Torvik: <\/strong> 2 (1 offense, 15 defense, 125 tempo)
Opponent NET: <\/strong>1 (ungodly 13-2 <\/strong>Q1, 16-2 Q1\/Q2); Q1 opponent for the Tide
Opponent RPI:<\/strong> 1
Opponent Best Win:<\/strong> vs Houston (3)
Opponent Worst Loss:<\/strong> vs Florida (4)<\/p>\n

UA Ken Pom<\/strong>: 6th (3 Off, 35 Defense, 1 Tempo)
UA Evan Miya<\/strong>: 5th (4 Off, 30 Defense, 1 Tempo)
UA Bart Torvik:<\/strong> 4th (3 Off, 34 Defense, 1 Tempo)
UA NET Ranking:<\/strong> 6 (8-3 Q1, 15-3 Q1\/2)
UA RPI<\/strong>: 2
UA Best Win: <\/strong>No. 3 (N) Houston
UA Worst Loss: <\/strong>No. 34 (N) Oregon<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m not going to sugarcoat this one. Auburn is \u2014 until proven otherwise \u2014 the best team that Alabama will play all season, because \u2014 until proven otherwise \u2014 they are the best team in the nation. <\/p>\n

You are what your record says you are: 13-2 vs. Q1 teams, DD wins over Iowa State and Houston on their own floors, absolutely smashed the Buckeyes in C\u2019Bus, made Purdue look silly, gave Duke all they could handle in a close loss at Cameron, smothered the Vols, boast a 4-2 record vs. the KP Top 25. Most efficient offense in the country. Top 20 defense. Absolutely miserly with the basketball. <\/p>\n

You have to give the devil their due. And the devil in this case is a group of previously-underachieving super seniors that have been superheated by outstanding freshman guard play: A team that can score at all three levels, and has a national player of the year in the post. The Tigers are elite perimeter defenders, outstanding at forcing turnovers, and the post has been very difficult to score in, with Broome and Cardwell swatting away 10 shots per night.<\/p>\n

That said, the margin isn\u2019t that <\/em>vast. <\/p>\n

Alabama has its own 5-2 record vs. the KP Top 25, has played much better on the road than the Tigers have, are No. 1 in conference efficiency. More importantly, \u2018Bama appears to be peaking at the right time, they\u2019re finally healthy, and they\u2019re gaining confidence from the much harder SEC road slate they\u2019ve faced and triumphed over. And while the Tide may not have the best starting five, it has a much deeper bench and thus a far superior next <\/em>five. It leads the SEC in 3P% defense (31.4%) in conference games. It leads the SEC in assists per bucket (unreal 41.4% of all baskets are made off of the extra pass). \u2018Bama leads the SEC in floor shooting (58.4%). <\/p>\n

And, for all the ballyhooing about the terrible Tide defense, \u2018Bama is 2nd in SEC floor shooting allowed \u2014 best in the SEC outside of Tennessee. The Tide is 2nd in 3PT shots as a % of offense allowed (behind only Auburn), gets to the line far more, and is much better at preventing FTAs against (3rd). In short, it has been a different team in conference play than the one that was routinely getting toasted in its brutal OOC schedule. <\/p>\n

Auburn leads the conference in SEC game perimeter defense (28.8%), but they\u2019ve also played the easier slate with more defensive teams (6th overall SOS for SEC games; Bama is 2nd). They\u2019ve not even faced a pure tempo team like the Tide or Kentucky yet in SEC play. They\u2019ve played a lot of squads who matchup very poorly with them, in short. <\/p>\n

Alabama does not <\/em>matchup poorly at all, and \u2018Bama has more than a puncher\u2019s chance in this game. They are, for all practical purposes, dead even. Some No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups are a bit illusory. This one is not. <\/p>\n

What remains to be determined is who is actually No. 1. If \u2018Bama wants to stake a claim to it, then they have to hold serve Saturday at home.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t actually cover the scheme fit this week. If you want to do some reading on that, I covered it in the preseason, when I explained why Holloway was a bad fit at the \u2018Barn but would thrive with \u2018Bama:<\/p>\n

\n

Bruce Pearl\u2019s offense is similar in some ways to Nate Oats, in that they are both 4- and 5-out schemes, often positionless. But, whereas CNO has a baseline-driven system, Pearl\u2019s version is a flex-motion from the top of the arc; it\u2019s a two-man give-and-go game.<\/p>\n

If you watch Pearl\u2019s Xs and Os, you\u2019ll see some familiar plays that Alabama also runs. But, in philosophy, it\u2019s very different. That makes a world of difference too, because the two-man game simply does not free up perimeter shooters like Alabama\u2019s offense does.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This season, Auburn isn\u2019t running so many two-man looks, as they are moving more into their high-motion given-and-go offense, with a lot of screens above the key (look for Cardwell in particular to set a ton of moving picks) to set up pick-and-roll and free space for their great perimeter shooters, as teams focus on Broome. <\/p>\n

You can see why spacing is much better in the \u2018Bama offense, and where the systems differ over here:<\/p>\n