The Auburn basketball team hit the road on Wednesday for a rivalry contest against Alabama basketball. It was expected to be a good game as the 8th ranked, 16-2 Tigers were 2.5-point underdogs in the game against the 13-5, unranked Crimson Tide. It was a huge game for both teams, and it got off to a wild start. The game tipped off, and the lights never came on. Both Auburn and Alabama continued to play, and the Tigers actually buried a three on their first possession with the lights out. It was bizarre.

You don't see a situation like that very often in college basketball. The lights were eventually fixed, and Auburn basketball and Alabama basketball played the rest of the game in the light. It ended up being a thrilling matchup as it came right down to wire, and Alabama pulled off the big win, 79-75.

After the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was asked about the lighting incident, and he didn't think it affected the game. He also made a little bit of a joke to Alabama head coach Nate Oats.

“Nah, I don’t think it impacted us at all,” Bruce Pearl said, according to an article from the Tuscaloosa News. “I gave Nate a hard time, I said, ‘Look, if you guys want a new facility, just get a new facility. You don’t have to turn the lights off.’ It was just one of those things. It happens.”

Nate Oats also spoke to the media, and he noted that Auburn was actually shooting the ball better while the lights were out, and that his team was fortunate that it didn't last.

“We’re fortunate they didn’t shoot it well,” Oats said. “They shot it better with the lights off. Maybe they should have requested to keep the lights off.”

The best stretch of the game for Auburn was certainly at the beginning, as they had their biggest lead of the game in the early stages. Alabama ended up going on a run to end the half and they took a 14-point lead into halftime. The Tigers didn't go away, however, as they were able to come back and actually take a lead in the second half, but the Crimson Tide quickly got it back and went on to win the game.

Auburn is now 16-3 overall after the loss, and 5-1 in SEC play. Alabama is also 5-1 in SEC play, so the two teams are currently tied atop the conference standings. The Tigers will look to bounce back from this loss when they return to the court on Saturday as they will hit the road to take on Mississippi State.