Why Alabama basketball's win at Auburn is a good sign for deep NCAA Tournament run

AUBURN ― The chances of Alabama basketball playing in a more hostile, raucous environment than the one at Neville Arena the rest of the season aren't great.

It was loud, it was packed, and it was filled with people who had plenty of hatred toward the Crimson Tide. Throw in the fact a win would have meant a victory over the No. 3 team in the country, and Auburn's home venue had plenty of juice for the matchup with Alabama on Saturday.

"The environment here, with them right on the court and the students right there, this is the toughest environment to play in (the SEC)," Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said.

Oats noted he hasn't faced Kentucky in Lexington when both the Crimson Tide and Wildcats are elite and the crowd isn't limited by COVID-19, but he still said he would put the environment at Neville Arena up there with anywhere in the SEC.

So, keeping that in mind, the fact Alabama accomplished what it did en route to a 77-69 victory is as encouraging a sign as any for the Crimson Tide's chances of making an NCAA Tournament run.

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Alabama (22-3, 12-0 SEC) had troubles at times with Auburn (17-8, 7-5), particularly how the Tigers defended the Crimson Tide. Yet Alabama adjusted, drowned out the noise and found a way to win.

That will be paramount if or when the Crimson Tide encounters a defense that can counter its style well, or it has an off night offensively.

Auburn is built well to defend, specifically 3-pointers. The Tigers entered the game as the No. 4 team in the country at defending 3-pointers, according to KenPom.

That showed through early. Alabama only attempted nine triples in the first half, sinking three. That's nowhere near the number the Crimson Tide wants in Oats' system.

"They were up into the ball, being super aggressive," Oats said.

Auburn actually attempted more triples (24) than Alabama (21), which is not a common occurrence.

So, the Crimson Tide adjusted.

Alabama outscored Auburn 44-20 in the paint.

Freshman guard Jaden Bradley was crucial in those efforts. He scored multiple times in the second half with pure grit and determination as he worked his magic near the rim. Bradley finished with 12 points as he went 5-for-6 from the field.

"Every time Auburn was going on a little bit of a run, he came downhill, got fouled or got a layup," Rylan Griffen said. "He was big-time today."

Griffen and Mark Sears were also key. They both stepped up in the second half and finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Those efforts were needed. Auburn succeeded in limiting Brandon Miller, the SEC's leading scorer, from taking over from beyond the arc. He went 0-for-7 from there. But even he didn't let Auburn's 3-point defense deter him. Miller still found ways to score near the basket and tallied 13 points.

“Jaden Bradley got downhill with how aggressive they were," Oats said. "Sears was able to get downhill some. Brandon was able to get down and finish at the rim some, because they definitely were trying to run him off the line. They did a good job taking away what we’re trying to do.”

That's why Alabama should be highly encouraged by the win at Auburn. The Tigers gave Alabama problems and sometimes got the Crimson Tide out of rhythm. Yet Alabama pushed through, had a cast of characters step up and got out of Auburn with a victory.

The blowout wins at home are nice, but figuring out how to win games like Saturday's only further builds the March Madness muscle.

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball win at Auburn good sign for March Madness run