Auburn basketball vs. Alabama: Our scouting report, score prediction

AUBURN — Following Auburn basketball's 32-point loss against Kentucky on Saturday, coach Bruce Pearl made it clear what the Tigers' goal is with just two games remaining in the regular season.

"We've got to go to Alabama and we've got Tennessee at home," Pearl said. "And we've got to win one of them, at least."

The Tigers (19-10, 9-7 SEC) have another chance to pick up their 20th victory of the season on Wednesday (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2) against the Crimson Tide. Alabama (25-4, 15-1) has established itself as one of the best teams not only in the conference, but in the country.

Alabama is undefeated in Coleman Coliseum this season, and aside from a hiccup against Tennessee on Feb. 15, the Crimson Tide is perfect in SEC play. For the past week, however, Alabama has been embroiled in off-the-court controversy after a police investigator testified that star freshman Brandon Miller brought the gun and was at the scene of a fatal shooting on the Tuscaloosa Strip on Jan. 15.

Here's a scouting report for Auburn's game against the Crimson Tide, and our score prediction.

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Balancing the offense

Alabama has won three straight and is 8-2 in its last 10 games. In its previous two contests against South Carolina on Feb. 22 and Arkansas on Saturday, though, the Crimson Tide didn't win by as wide of a margin as has become expected. It took overtime against the Gamecocks and the final difference over the Razorbacks was just three points. Alabama has outscored SEC competition by an average of over 12 points per game.

A common trend between the Crimson Tide's matchups with South Carolina and Arkansas is that Alabama allowed three players on both opposing teams to score at least 18 points. With Auburn's offense struggling versus the Wildcats, a bounce-back performance from some of the Tigers' top scorers− Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams and Wendell Green Jr − is needed for them to have a chance.

Shutting down Brandon Miller

In Auburn's game against Alabama earlier in the season, the Tigers were able to hold Miller to just 13 points on 41.7% shooting. The 6-foot-9 forward also missed all seven of his shots from 3-point range.

Miller is averaging 31 points in his past three games, including 41 points against South Carolina. He has made 10 of his 24 shots from 3-point range over that stretch.

Rebounding woes

Pearl predicted the Tigers would get waxed against Kentucky if they rebounded poorly. He was correct, as the Wildcats hauled in 41 compared to Auburn's 23. Only two Tigers had more than four rebounds and Broome, who is averaging 8.5 per game, pulled in just one.

Rebounding will again be an emphasis, as the Crimson Tide has a 202-146 advantage on the boards in its last five games. Freshman forward Noah Clowney is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game dating back to the Crimson Tide visiting Neville Arena on Feb. 11.

Score prediction

Alabama 78, Auburn 70: The Tigers don't let this thing get out of hand like they did against Kentucky, but the Crimson Tide grabs a lead in the first half and keeps Auburn at bay for the rest of the game. Green bounces back by dropping over 20 points and Broome gets after it on the glass, but the talent of Alabama ultimately proves too much to overcome.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball vs. Alabama: Our scouting report, score prediction