AUBURN, Ala. — Despite a barrage of made three-pointers out of halftime that cut what was once a 19-point Auburn lead down to two points, Alabama didn't have enough fuel in the tank or depth on the bench to complete the comeback against the No. 1 Tigers.
Led by Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Shackelford, Alabama came out of the half on an 18-6 run, and a Shackelford three cut the Auburn lead to 57-55. The Tigers responded with 24-6 run to completely wipe out the momentum Alabama had gained and any hopes of a Crimson Tide comeback.
Auburn proved why its the No. 1 team in the country and held on for the 100-81 win in Auburn Arena Tuesday night. It was Alabama's largest margin of defeat this season. (The previous was 14 against Memphis in December.)
Alabama falls to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the SEC. Shackelford had 26 points and Quinerly added 20, but the Crimson Tide couldn't get enough help on offense outside of those two, especially late in the second half.
It was actually one of Alabama's better shooting games of the season and best in the SEC so far. The Crimson Tide shot 14-37 from beyond the arc. However, where Alabama has normally been one of the best teams in the country this year, inside the paint, was a big struggle Tuesday night. The Tigers outscored Alabama in the paint 52-22.
The Crimson Tide held the lead for the majority of the first seven minutes of the game and were up 14-10 with 13:45. After the Tigers tied the game at 14 with four straight free throws, it became the Wendell Green show for Auburn. He scored seven points for Auburn in about a two-minute span
Alabama came out of the gate with high intensity and aggressiveness on defense, getting stops early on. However, during that time when they were getting stops on defense, they were not converting consistently enough on offense.
Next up for Alabama, the team will play its third straight top-five opponent with No. 5 Kentucky coming into Coleman Coliseum Saturday at 7 p.m.
This story will be updated with quotes and video.
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