With the 2023 calendar turning to March, the Big Dance sits only a few weeks away, with 68 teams soon vying for the most coveted trophy in all of collegiate basketball. Until then, the NCAA Division I Conference titles are up for grabs. Such was the case on Wednesday night, when the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide took on the unranked Auburn Tigers with a chance to wrap up the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championship.
The Tigers were in control for much of the game; in fact, they led the Crimson Tide by 17 with 10:49 remaining in the second half. However, that was when the Crimson Tide flipped the switch. They proceeded to outscore the Tigers by 22 points down the stretch, claiming a rousing 90-85 victory in overtime that gave the Alabama basketball program its second regular-season conference title in three years.
The Crimson Tide's resiliency definitely led to a performance that deservedly gives head coach Nate Oats much reason to be proud of his team. Oats also acknowledged how much this victory means to a school that has had to process its collective grief following the senseless shooting death of Jamea Jonae Harris.
“I couldn't be more proud of this group, to be honest with you. Obviously, it's a heartbreaking situation that's never lost on us. But the kids have worked really hard. Winning the SEC is not an easy thing to do,” Oats said, per ESPN.
Winning the SEC truly proved to be a difficult endeavor to pull off for Nate Oats' Alabama basketball squad. Not only did they manage to avoid letting the game away from them following Rylan Griffen and Charles Bediako's ejections, they also managed to overcome the off-court distraction hanging over their head given their best player Brandon Miller's connection to the Darius Miles murder case (Miller's attorney released a statement claiming the star NBA prospect “never touched the gun” used).
At the end of the day, it was Brandon Miller and Jahvon Quinerly who led the way for one of the favorites for the upcoming March Madness. Miller had a rough shooting night (3-12) but he still ended up with 17 points and eight boards, while Quinerly dropped 24 points and six dimes off the Crimson Tide bench.
Alabama's most recent comeback against Auburn was their biggest since the 2010-11 season, and their first ever overtime win against Auburn.
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