The Auburn Tigers take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Our college basketball odds series has our Auburn Alabama prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Auburn Alabama.
The SEC basketball season has one week left before the SEC Tournament. The Alabama Crimson Tide have fended off the Texas A&M Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers in recent weeks. Now they just need one more win to clinch the outright SEC championship. They have already clinched a tie but will need at least one more win to grab the No. 1 seed at the SEC Tournament, given that they have to play Texas A&M on Saturday. If Alabama loses this game to Auburn and then loses at Texas A&M, the Tide would very improbably fail to win the outright SEC title. Texas A&M would have the head-to-head win which would give the Aggies the No. 1 seed at the SEC Tournament. Alabama wants to lock down the title in this game and win the Iron Bowl basketball game over its hated in-state archrival.
Here are the Auburn-Alabama college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
College Basketball Odds: Auburn-Alabama Odds
Auburn Tigers: +9.5 (-105)
Alabama Crimson Tide: -9.5 (-115)
Over: 154.5 (-110)
Under: 154.5 (-110)
How To Watch Auburn vs. Alabama
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. PT
*Watch Auburn-Alabama LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Auburn Could Cover The Spread
If you have watched Alabama in the games since the explosive Brandon Miller story broke, you will have noticed that Alabama has not started well. The Tide had to rally to beat Arkansas. They had to rally to beat a bad South Carolina team by a close margin. It seems very clear that what is happening off the court has affected the Tide. It's everywhere in the news. Coach Nate Oats is being asked about the topic all the time, and it's obvious that Oats is not handling the situation as well as he should. There are a lot of questions surrounding the Alabama basketball program and university leadership regarding this very complicated and disturbing situation. It is natural for a group of young human beings to lack their best focus and their best level of play under such circumstances. Combine that with the reality that this is a rivalry game in which home-court advantage (which Alabama has) doesn't matter as much as it might in other games. You have a recipe for a close game. The spread is fairly large. Alabama has to win by at least 10 to cover. This will not be an easy hill for Bama to climb — not just winning the game, but covering the spread.
Why Alabama Could Cover The Spread
Even if the Tide are distracted, they are still rallying to win games. They are still responding to in-game situations with poise and steadiness. They might not be fully in form, but they have such a strong knack for solving problems within games and finding a big-time finishing kick to not only win games, but win them by a comfortable final margin. Alabama is one of a few teams in college basketball which reliably goes on a 10-2 or 15-4 run in the second half when it absolutely needs it. That's exactly what you want from a team if you are picking it to cover a nine-point spread or something in that vicinity. This team might be the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. That kind of thing doesn't happen by accident. Bama is the best of the best.
Final Auburn-Alabama Prediction & Pick
Alabama is significantly better than Auburn, but the rivalry angle and the off-court stories connected to this game make it hard to arrive at a choice. Stay away from this game.
Final Auburn-Alabama Prediction & Pick: Auburn +9.5
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