Alabama won the first round of the 2026 Iron Bowl of Basketball.
The Auburn Tigers hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide, their biggest rival, in the first round of the 2026 Iron Bowl of Basketball at home inside Neville Arena on Saturday, Feb. 7, and it didn't have the outcome they would have liked.
Auburn (14-9, 5-5 SEC) appeared to be in control of the game throughout the first half, but Alabama (16-7, 6-4 SEC) adjusted well in the second half and ended up fighting its way to a win inside a hostile environment.
Alabama got on the board first after Latrell Wrightsell Jr. buried a 3-pointer, but Auburn responded with a run that allowed it to build a lead as high as eight points before its opponent found a way to respond.
The Tigers managed to go on another first-half run that allowed them to jump out to a 10-point advantage. The Crimson Tide trimmed the deficit to four points before going into the locker room for halftime, however.
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, two made free-throws by Aiden Sherrell gave Alabama a lead and Auburn never managed to fight its way back into the driver's seat.
As has been the case many times this season, Auburn was led by Tahaad Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall, who led the Tigers in scoring with 25 and 24 points, respectively. KeShawn Murphy led the team in rebounds with 12, and Pettiford led the way in assists with seven.
Auburn had a better shooting performance than other recent games. It finished 33-of-71, 46.5%, from the floor, 9-of-28, 32.1%, from 3-point range and 12-of-22, 77.3%, from the free-throw line.
Labaron Philon led Alabama in scoring with 25 points, he was the only member of the Crimson Tide to cross the 20-point threshold.
Auburn returns to action on Tuesday night when it hosts the No. 15 Vanderbilt Commodores (19-4, 6-4 SEC) at home inside Neville Arena. Tipoff is Kset for 6 p.m. CT, and SEC Network will cthe broadcast.