Bruce Pearl, “This Rivalry Matters”

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers faced their toughest challenge yet this season, going into Coleman Coliseum with 14,000 opposing fans wanting nothing more than to watch the Tigers fall to the Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl of Basketball.

Get our free mobile app

Pearl and the Tigers got the job done, taking down the Crimson Tide 94-85 in a game that lived up to the College Gameday hype that had been buzzing all day long in Tuscaloosa.

The eyes of the college basketball world were on one of the most heated rivalries in the sport, and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was happy that his team delivered.

"I think the thing I'm proudest of is that all eyes of college basketball were on the state of Alabama and the SEC. What this conference has done in men's basketball is historic, and you never know if a game can live up to the hype. We were very prepared - the coaches did a great job with the game plan, and the kids executed early. You got to play well early if you're gonna win on the road," Pearl said following his team's win on Saturday.

"As you expect, Alabama came storming back, and the place was - I've never heard Coleman this loud. That was a really clean game, a really clean game, which I was really proud about."

Pearl also talked about what this rivalry means in the state of Alabama, "I'm happy for the kids from Alabama. This rivalry matters in the state and every family. Every family is divided. Every family's got Auburn fans, got Alabama fans...so for Chaney's (Johnson) and Denver's (Jones) it was really big for them and they both played well."

Chaney Johnson and Denver Joens were two of the biggest contributors to the Tigers' victory on Saturday. Johnson scored 14 points on 50% shooting from the field along with five rebounds, while Denver Jones helped lock down Alabama's leading scorer in Mark Sears while adding 19 points himself for the Tigers, shooting 5-9 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.