The rivalry between Alabama and Auburn is known to be heated on the football field, but the meetings of the teams on the hardwood have also become some of the sport's best.
It doesn't take a sports export to understand how significant the Iron Bowl is for all of college football. It's the sport's best rivalry, and it has been for a long time.
Neither school has always had the best track record when it comes to basketball, however. That changed when Auburn hired Bruce Pearl and Alabama brought in Nate Oats.
Both programs have become nationally relevant and have each appeared in the Final Four.
With that elevation of status for the programs, the meetings have obviously become a lot more intense. What previously couldn't sell out an arena has students camping out prior to the game and ticket prices that rival NFL playoff games.
It's a different time for college basketball in the state of Alabama, and don't get it twisted, the Iron Bowl of Basketball is now the greatest rivalry in college basketball.
I have significant ties to North Carolina, so I know about Duke/North Carolina. I've been a Hoosier since I was born, so I know about Purdue/Indiana. I know of the other great rivalries that take place in gyms across the map, but the IBOB stands above them all recently.
Jabari Smith, Walker Kessler and Brandon Miller are just some of the names that come to mind when thinking about the new era of this rivalry. Great players lead to a great product, and Alabama and Auburn each have next-level talent on its squads each season.
The two have combined for countless SEC regular season and tournament titles in recent seasons, and the March Madness stage has become very familiar with both the Crimson Tide and the Tigers.
Last year, the two sides played in a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup, something that would have seemed crazy a decade ago. That's where this matchup is at now, however, and I don't see things slowing down anytime soon.