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Casagrande: After 53 seconds of mayhem, Auburn proved it was true No. 1

This is an opinion column.

For a moment, we had the basketball nirvana this overstuffed coliseum was craving.

High-stakes bloody knuckles saw No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Alabama trading 3-point haymakers in a scene that fit the hype.

For a few fleeting basketball moments, it was absolute theater.

Then Auburn called for the curtain.

The biggest college basketball game this state has ever seen had its moment of drama but, ultimately, confirmed it was the lead dog in the Battle of Titans.

No. 1, for good reason.

The Tigers came into his hostile hangar and served notice it wasn’t bowing in the hardwood arms race that’s fixated this football holy land.

Auburn 94, Alabama 85 was nothing short of a primal assertion of power on the gilded stage.

It punched the second-ranked hosts in the face to open both halves of basketball and only briefly ceded momentum. It was 9-0, Tigers before Alabama knew what happened and got worse from there.

Auburn then came out firing again to open the second half — turning this into a 14-point rout. Rocking at tip, this place felt more like a mausoleum until Alabama opted in.

Briefly.

A quick 15-2 run set the scene for the moment of zen.

It began with Grant Nelson’s dunk that tied the game at 65.

Tahaad Pettiford’s 3-pointer 18 seconds later made it 68-65, Tigers.

Chris Youngblood tied it again, 8 seconds down the timeline with another 3.

Thirty-three ticks after that, Chad Baker-Mazara’s bomb became the bookend to the flurry.

More emotional swings than a junior high cafeteria.

Absolute whiplash between absolute pandemonium and the reciprocal hush.

After 53 seconds of madness, Auburn returned to the form and yanked the live wire from a Coleman Coliseum crowd that got a head start on the traffic.

Auburn was too big.

It was too physical.

Too balanced.

Better defense.

These Tigers have all the makings of a national title team and it flexed that potential in the biggest way Saturday. It can win in different ways — the key to translating February into March and, ultimately, April.

It never trailed in the most hostile environment this 57-year-old building’s produced.

The Tigers dictated the pace, the tone and the tenor of this rare meeting between teams who split No. 1 rankings between the two major polls.

There will be most conflict this Monday.

Not after Johni Broome led the pack of six Tigers who scored between 19 and 13 points. They took turns as lead dog but it was Pettiford, the freshman, who scored seven of his 13 in the minutes after Alabama tied it.

This is a Tiger defense that held Alabama to 5-for-26 shooting from 3-point range. That tied for the host’s fewest-made 3s this season, while the 19.2% success rate was its second-lowest of the season. Mark Sears went just 2-for-11 from deep. He and Grant Nelson combined to shoot just 9-for-28 from the field

Make a few more of those and this game feels different.

But Auburn also asserted itself in the paint. A bigger, longer lineup made life difficult near the rim for an Alabama offense that likes to test the painted area of the floor. The Crimson Tide made just 14 of 30 layups.

The Tigers were credited with six blocks officially but their size was a factor when Alabama guards tried to get to the rim. That was most evident in the closing moments as critical Tide possessions died in the paint as a long-armed defense swallowed the final gasps whole.

Alabama picked a bad day to have one of its worst shooting performances of the season since it, for an afternoon, solved its biggest offensive liability. Turnovers numbered just seven — its second fewest of the season.

Yet Auburn felt like it was in control of this one almost from the tip. It was a team that looked dialed in a week after appearing to let off the gas in a decisive home loss to Florida.

It didn’t play with the intensity befitting a No. 1 team seven days before it locked in an equally unfriendly setting.

Defense has separated these two in critical moments in recent games and did again Saturday.

After building the quick 9-0 lead, Auburn weathered the three major threats Alabama made for the lead.

It was a 6-0 spurt in a 25-second stretch early in the first when Alabama trimmed it to 14-13.

Another 6-0 run spanning 59 seconds later in the half when Alabama made it 26-25.

And a 7-0 sprint after Youngblood’s 3 tied it at 68, this time covering 1:21.

Alabama never got closer than five points after that.

Point proven.

Auburn lost the last two trips to Coleman Coliseum but flexed in this trip north — easily the most anticipated regular-season game this state’s ever seen.

For now, the Tigers can stake their claim to No. 1.

Alabama had its shot and a home-crowd tailwind for a blink there but Auburn was never fazed.

Unbothered by the moment.

Now the unquestioned No. 1.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

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General

Nate Oats on message to fans throwing debris: ‘Don’t do dumb stuff’

Alabama head coach Nate Oats never saw debris being thrown. He found out about the situation unfolding during Alabama basketball’s loss to Auburn Saturday in Tuscaloosa from Crimson Tide athletics director Greg Byrne.

“Administration told me somebody threw something on the floor and if they did it again, we were gonna get a T in a game that was gonna be tight,” Oats said after the game. “Not really sure what the score was at that point. We weren’t trying to give away free points.”

With Alabama down by three points in the second half of Saturday’s game, Oats took to the PA microphone at Coleman Coliseum. He admonished the fans in the arena to stop throwing debris onto the court, and to “knock it off” during the Iron Bowl of Basketball.

Oats said after the game that he was disappointed if the culprit was one of Alabama’s fans.

“Doesn’t help us win,” Oats said. “Not sure what they’d be throwing something on the floor for anyways. That’s just asinine. Don’t do dumb stuff. I tell our players not to do dumb stuff and get flagrants and give the other team free points. We’re trying to win the basketball game on the scoreboard.”

Fans throwing debris was an issue throughout the college football season. LSU was fined $250,000 for an incident during its loss to Alabama.

Oats said he had never before had to make an announcement like Saturday’s at the college level.

“I was a high school coach for 11 years, so we had brawls break out in the stands back in high school,” Oats said. “I had not had to do that in college yet though. Takes one person to throw something. Had our attendance at 13,500 here, so 13,499 were hopefully really well behaved. But it takes one person to ruin it for everybody, so let’s make sure we don’t have that happen again.”

Alabama fell 94-85 to Auburn Saturday. The Crimson Tide will be back in action Wednesday, facing Missouri on the road.

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General

Alabama’s severe weather threat increases: Heavy rain, damaging winds, tornadoes possible across state

The risk for severe weather for all of Alabama is increasing, according to the National Weather Service.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has expanded a Level 3 out of 5 or “enhanced” severe weather risk to include nearly all of the state.

A Level 3 risk means that numerous severe storms will be possible.

Just the northeast corner of the state and areas along the immediate coast were left in a Level 2 risk area, which means that scattered severe storms will be possible.

Tornadoes, including some strong ones, damaging winds and heavy rain will all be possible with a quick-moving line of storms expected to cross the state from west to east starting later tonight and lasting into Sunday morning.

Forecasters were particularly concerned about the threat for damaging straight-line winds, which could be near hurricane-force in some storms.

The SPC continued to highlight an area in central and south Alabama that had a higher probability of seeing those damaging wind gusts:

The storms could reach Alabama’s western border by 9 or 10 p.m. and quickly track to the east.

Northwest Alabama will likely get the first storms, and they could reach southwest Alabama later tonight or early Sunday.

The National Weather Service on Saturday evening noted that a tornado watch had been issued to the west of Alabama and said one that included this state would be possible later tonight.

Forecasters urge all Alabamians to have a reliable way of receiving severe weather warnings overnight.

The storms are expected to move out on Sunday, and colder and drier weather is expected on Sunday and Monday.

Here’s more from the National Weather Service:

NORTH ALABAMA

CENTRAL ALABAMA

SOUTH ALABAMA

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General

AHSAA wrestling: Weaver, Thompson win first girls titles; Thompson boys win, too

Weaver High School’s girls wrestling team captured the first-ever AHSAA State Wrestling Championship awarded for girls Saturday at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center, winning the Class 1A/5A division. The Bearcats had amassed 166 points in Friday’s action, which was enough to secure the title before Saturday’s matches.

Thompson’s girls also won a state championship in Class 6A/7A to give the Warriors a big-school sweep as the boys team claimed another crown – its ninth – in the 70th AHSAA State Wrestling Championships.

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General

Rapper known for ‘House Party’ movies dead at 62

Long Island-born rapper and actor Gene “Groove” Allen has died unexpectedly, according to his family.

His death was confirmed on social media by his daughter, Nikki Wilkins.

“Gene ‘Groove’ Allen may be a celebrity to y’all but to us he was the man who made sure we stayed smiling through this rollercoaster we call life,” she wrote. “He is loved, he is needed and yes it was a total shock. I know he is watching over me and my siblings.”

While no cause of death was given, a family member told TMZ that Allen died Wednesday at his home in Maryland following a medical emergency. No foul play is suspected. The outlet reported his age as 62, while his IMDb profile lists him as 60.

Fans of the Kid ‘n Play “House Party” movies of the early 1990s will remember Allen as Groove. He went on to land small roles in 1992’s “Boomerang” starring Eddie Murphy, and a year later in the Tina Turner biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”

But to music fans, Allen was known for founding the New York City hip-hop trio Groove B. Chill, alongside Daryl “Chill” Mitchell and DJ Belal Miller. The group released one studio album, 1990’s “Starting From Zero,” and are best remembered for the song “Hip Hop Music.”

In more recent years, Allen dedicated himself to community service and raising funds for good causes as the president and CEO of Groove E. Productions. Late last year, he hosted hip-hop shows to raise money and resources for veterans, a women’s shelter and a holiday toy drive.

He’d also recently been promoting new music off his anticipated EP “Bring Back the Party.” Video posted to Instagram earlier this week shows him rapping in front of a live audience.

Queens hip-hop star Eric B. joined a long list of old-school fans mourning Allen’s death. He said he learned of the bad news from Mitchell, now an actor known for his roles in “NCIS: New Orleans” and “Fear the Walking Dead.”

“Got a call from my brother Chill that his brother Groove passed away,” Eric B. wrote on Instagram Friday. “Dam rest in peace brother Groove. We will continue to celebrate your life. Let the house party continue on.”

Allen is survived by his his wife and three children, according to TMZ.

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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General

Alabama fans, Chad Baker-Mazara get into altercation after collision

The Alabama-Auburn rivalry spilled into the first couple of rows of fans late Saturday in No. 1 Auburn’s 94-85 win over No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

With four minutes left in the game and the Tigers leading 55-41, Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara attempted to save a ball on the Alabama baseline and fell into the seats.

A couple of Alabama fans appear to extend their arms – either to help him up or push him away – which led to the Auburn star and the Tide fans exchanging words.

One female scream was screaming, “that was a foul.”

No doubt a result of Baker-Mazara’s block of a Grant Nelson’s shot around the rim before the ball headed out of bounds.

Baker-Mazara then went back and forth with a couple of fans before being led back on the court by an official and teammate Johni Broom.

Baker-Mazara finished with 15 points before fouling out.

Broome had 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Mark Sears scored 18 points and Grant Nelson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama, which rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half, but failed to complete the comeback.

Denver Jones scored 16 points, and Miles Kelly added 15 points apiece, Chaney Johnson had 14 and Tahaad Pettiford 13 for Auburn (23-2, 11-1 SEC).

Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway each scored 10 for Alabama (21-4, 10-2).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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General

Bad habits arrive for Bama: 3 reasons why Alabama basketball lost to Auburn at home

Alabama basketball’s SEC regular-season championship hopes took a hit Saturday, when the Crimson Tide fell to Auburn. The Tigers won the Iron Bowl of Basketball 94-85, dropping the Tide to 21-4 on the season, 10-2 in SEC play.

UA never led the battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, struggling on defense throughout. The loss begins a gauntlet of excellent SEC matchups to end the season for Alabama, with no unranked teams currently left on the schedule.

Before that, here’s three reasons for the loss.

Missed opportunities

As the rest of the SEC has found out this season, Auburn is a war machine. Alabama got its first lesson of the year on Saturday, with the Tigers dispelling any idea that they have an equal within the state.

Across the board, Auburn looked better than Alabama. Even when the Crimson Tide made a run, AU felt inevitable.

Johni Broome was superb, dominating the Tide on the glass. Broome finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and six assists

Alabama cut things close in the second half, tying it twice, but the Tigers came on late, once again demonstrating what they were capable of, even against an excellent team, with Alabama going 3-for-12 from the field when the game was within three points.

When the UA offense was working, Alabama could play with Auburn. Unfortunately for the Tide, that wasn’t often enough.

Offensive woes

Alabama’s offense looked off kilter throughout the game. The Crimson Tide shot just 39% from the field throughout and was 5-for-26 from three-point range.

The Tigers got off to a hot start. Auburn scored the first nine points of the game, and the Tide took until 17:44 to get on the board with a Grand Nelson free throw.

With the three-point shot not falling, Alabama has at times been able to work the ball inside but wasn’t able to finish at the rim either against the Tigers. The Crimson Tide was 14-for-30 on layups, something UA guard Chris Youngblood said could be an easy fix.

“Make the layups,” Youngblood said of the solution. “We always worked really hard, so it’s just a focus thing. Making layups is a part of the game.”

Alabama was able to limit its turnovers to seven, a positive sign if it can continue moving forward. However, outside of a few runs, that was the only bright spot against the Tigers.

Same old issue

Hours before tipoff in Coleman Coliseum, Nate Oats did an interview with ESPN’s College Gameday. The first question from Rece Davis: what must the Crimson Tide do to win a national championship?

Oats hit on his favorites from this season. UA needed to limit turnovers, be consistently good on defense, and rebound better.

The defense was the problem against Auburn. Alabama allowed 1.27 points per possession and six Tiger players got into double figures.

Johni Broome led the way, with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Denver Jones was second in scoring with 16 points. When Alabama made things tight, the Tigers were always able to find a way to score and halt the runs.

Alabama has shown flashes on defense throughout the 2024-25 season. However, with a brutal stretch ahead, the group will have to be better as SEC play continues.

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General

South Alabama battles past Texas State in OT behind Barry Dunning’s career day

South Alabama’s second overtime win in three days featured a career-best performance by Barry Dunning.

The junior from Mobile poured in 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Jaguars’ 70-65 victory over Texas State on Saturday at the Mitchell Center. It was the most points by any player in a Sun Belt Conference game this year, and kept South Alabama in the mix for the regular-season league title.

South Alabama — which beat Marshall 91-82 in overtime on Thursday — improved to 18-9 overall and 10-4 in Sun Belt play, the first time it has reached double-digit conference wins since 2021. Pending the outcome of Saturday’s late game between Troy and first-place Arkansas State, the Jaguars will be either tied for first or remain tied for second with four games remaining on the regular-season schedule.

“It’s just a testament to work,” said Dunning, who made a season-best five 3-pointers on Saturday. “I just continue to work, keep my head high, remain humble. I have to give all the credit to my teammates. They found me and I was being aggressive. It opened up a lot of scoring opportunities for me.”

South Alabama rallied twice from six points down on Saturday, including with less than nine minutes left in regulation, taking a 60-57 lead on a pair of Elijah Ormiston free throws with 1:32 to play. However, Texas State’s Dylan Dawson hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 60 with 37 seconds left, then the Bobcats’ Mark Drone missed an off-balance 3 at the buzzer to force overtime.

The Jaguars limited the Bobcats (13-14, 6-8) to just five points in overtime, but didn’t put the game away until the final two minutes. Dunning’s three-point play with 43 seconds left put South Alabama up four, then a pair of free throws by Myles Corey following his rebound of a Texas State miss made it 69-63 with 27 seconds left.

Corey was fouled on the rebound by Texas State’s Tylan Pope, who fouled out after a monster performance in defeat. The 6-foot-6 senior posted a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds — eight offensive — and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

“That was as physical a ball game as I’ve been a part of in a while,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said. “It was hands-on every drive. Every shot that went up, you were getting hit in the back, you were getting held.

“… I’m going to have nightmares about Tylan Pope. That dude was as physical as we’ve seen. To count the power (conference opponents) we’ve played, he was more physical than all of them.”

Ormiston was the only other South Alabama player in double-figures scoring with 15 points, going 9-for-10 at the free-throw line. Dunning was 7-for-8 at the stripe, with Corey — who scored eight points, with five assists and six steals — going 4-for-5.

The Jaguars again struggled from 3-point range, making just five of 22 — all by Dunning. Defensively, South Alabama held Texas State to 33% shooting, forced 17 turnovers and blocked nine shots.

But the ultimate difference in the game was Dunning, the former Mr. Basketball at McGill-Toolen Catholic School who spent a year each at Arkansas and UAB before transferring back to his hometown school prior to this season. The 6-foot-6 forward played a season-high 42 minutes on Saturday, including all of the second half and overtime.

“He grew up a lot in this one; I told him that after the game,” Riley said. “The physicality that they were playing with and the things that he had to fight through to go out there and get 34, 11 rebounds, seven offensive rebounds, three assists, and shoot the percentages he did and play 42 minutes was really special. It was really special.

“To me, that was his best game in a Jaguar uniform so far. I don’t think it’ll be his best game by the time he’s done. I believe that much in him. I think that he’s going to have a lot of games that look similar to that when it’s all said and done.”

South Alabama returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday, playing at Arkansas State in a game that will be for at least a share of first place in the Sun Belt regardless of the outcome of any other games. The Jaguars beat the Red Wolves 76-62 in Mobile on Jan. 9.

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General

Young man shot dead behind vacant house in Birmingham’s Ensley community

A young man was found shot to death behind a vacant house in Birmingham’s Ensley community.

The shooting happened just before 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1400 block of 33rd Street.

Neighbors reported hearing a loud “bang” and found the victim on the ground in the back yard of the house. They then called 911, said Sgt. LaQuitta Wade.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced the unidentified victim dead on the scene.

“We do believe the victim is a young adult male,‘’ Wade said.

Wade said it was not yet known if the victim lived in the area.

The homicide is the city’s 16th of 2025. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 24 slayings, including the 16 in Birmingham.

The killing comes less than 48 hours after a man and woman were fatally shot while in a vehicle on the city’s east side. Their identities have not yet been released.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

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General

3 takeaways from Auburn basketball’s win over Alabama

Saturday’s game between No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Alabama lived up to the hype of what was inarguably the biggest college basketball game in the state’s history.

For Auburn, the afternoon ended in elation, beating Alabama 94-85 and solidifying its spot as the No. 1 team in the country.

The game was physical, intense and everything else you’d expect out of the first No. 1 versus No. 2 game in Southeastern Conference men’s basketball history.

With the win Auburn improves to 23-2 and will return home Wednesday to face Arkansas.

Here are three takeaways from Auburn’s Iron Bowl of Basketball win over Alabama:

The defense was good enough

In Auburn’s two losses this season, defense was undoubtedly the biggest issue.

The Tigers gave up 84 points at Duke and 90 against Florida, leading to Bruce Pearl bringing up the defensive issues following both games.

Alabama came into Saturday’s game second in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom, trailing only Auburn. Against the Tigers, the Crimson Tide struggled to get going, scoring just 33 points in the first half on 31% shooting.

Despite a better second-half showing, Alabama could never quite get past Auburn, trailing for the entire game and eventually falling short.

Auburn’s defense was especially good at running Alabama off the 3-point line, holding the Crimson Tide to 19% from beyond the arc. The only area where Auburn seemed to have difficulties was on the glass, but the Tigers tightened up the defensive rebounding in the second half.

Auburn won behind the 3-point line

Given how the two teams play, you’d probably expect Alabama to be the team that shoots 30+ 3-pointers and gets a large chunk of its offense from beyond the arc.

That was Auburn on Saturday, as the Tigers made 12 of 30 3-point attempts, finishing far more efficient than Alabama.

Auburn was particularly hot from long range at the start of both halves, going on a 9-0 run after big shots from Miles Kelly and Johni Broome to start the game and three 3s in a row from Denver Jones to start the second half.

The Tigers shot fewer 3-pointers in the second half, but they seemed to continually make the important ones, never letting an Alabama run completely shift the game. Auburn shot 6-for-11 from 3 in the final 20 minutes, and big shots from Jones, Tahaad Pettiford and Chad Baker-Mazara felt like the difference.

The best team in the country, solidified

Over the past two months, you could make a strong argument that Auburn was the best team in the country.

The Tigers spent much of that time atop the AP poll, but surges from Duke and Alabama have questioned the title. The loudest questions of whether or not Auburn is the true No. 1 came after the Tigers lost by nine at home to Florida last Saturday.

That led to Auburn splitting the No. 1 ranking in the AP and coaches polls with Alabama, making the No. 1 versus No. 2 Iron Bowl of Basketball matchup more meaningful than ever.

While questions arose last week, few remained after Saturday afternoon.

Auburn beat Alabama fair and square, and while it wasn’t a blowout by any means, the Tigers never seemed to lose control. Alabama made a few surging runs in the second half, but the Tigers never lost the lead and had an answer for every blow thrown by the Crimson Tide.

The win is the biggest of the year for an Auburn team that already has a strong resume. But more than that, there’s no longer much of an argument for who the best team in the country is.

At least for now.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m

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