The exhibition label didn’t do much to soften this one. Auburn and Alabama brought the edge, the noise and the bad blood to Legacy Arena on Thursday night, and the Crimson Tide walked out with an 87-85 win in Birmingham.
From the opening whistle to the final horn, the game had the feel of something bigger than a preseason tune-up. The crowd leaned into it, answering “AU” chants with the kind of response you’d expect in a game that had the building buzzing from start to finish. Tempers even kept flaring after it was over.
That kind of atmosphere wasn’t an accident. Nate Oats said beforehand, “I think the intensity of that game, the fact that it doesn't count, I don't think anybody in the game is going to realize the record doesn't go on your record.
It's going to count in the state of Alabama,” and the night played exactly that way. At one point, Oats was screaming in Kevin Overton's face during one of several scuffles.
The Tigers had chances, but foul trouble changed the shape of the finish. Tahaad Pettiford and Bukky Oboye both fouled out, and that proved costly in the closing stretch. Pettiford finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists before exiting, while Oboye added seven points and eight boards.
Overton carried Auburn offensively with 26 points, and Adam Olsen chipped in 12 while hitting 4 of 10 from three-point range. On the Alabama side, Amari Allen scored 23 points and Qayden Samuels added 20.
The game came down to one last sequence. After Drew Fielder missed a free throw with 3.9 seconds left, Auburn couldn’t secure the rebound and get a timeout to set up a final shot.
Auburn now finishes its exhibition schedule next Thursday at home against Samford at Neville Arena.
In Other News...
Former Auburn Assistant Back In Spotlight After NCAA Tampering Findings
Wes Flanigan, a familiar name to Auburn fans from his time on the Tigers staff, is back in the spotlight after NCAA findings tied to his stint at Ole Miss. Now on Georgia Techs basketball staff, Flanigan was cited for violating tampering rules after impermissibly contacting a players advisor when that player was not in the transfer portal, a reminder of how closely the NCAA is still watching the gray areas around roster movement.
The case also brought penalties for Ole Miss, which was hit for failing to disassociate a booster connected to an earlier football infractions matter, leading to probation and a fine. Flanigans punishment included a two-game suspension, recruiting restrictions and a one-year show cause order, and he served that during the 2024-25 season. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Need To Prepare For A Very Different LSU Gameday
Auburn is asking fans to brace for a noticeably different game-day feel when LSU comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium, with construction around the venue forcing the athletic department to rethink how people move in and out. Auburn Athletics has rolled out a set of operational changes aimed at improving pedestrian flow and easing congestion, including encouraging fans to use all available entry gates and follow specific routes around the stadium.
The biggest change for many longtime regulars is Tiger Walk, which has been moved to roughly 2.5 hours before kickoff as part of the adjusted pregame routine. The broader backdrop is the Jordan-Hare North Project, a major capital development that started in 2026 and is slated to run through spring 2029, so this is not a one-off inconvenience but the start of a longer stretch of temporary gameday tweaks. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Georgia Momentum Just Ran Into A Bigger SEC Concern
Auburn came out of its upset over Georgia looking like a team that had finally found some traction, but the mood shifted quickly at Jordan-Hare Stadium. LSU rolled to a 38-17 win and handed the Tigers their largest defeat since earlier in the 2023 season, a jarring setback after a stretch that had begun to suggest Auburn might be turning a corner in SEC play.
The biggest issue was the way LSU moved the ball, especially through the air, as quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns. Auburn had problems on both sides of the ball, struggling to slow the Tigers offense while also finding little rhythm in the run game, and the loss dropped Auburn to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC with more questions than answers than they had after the Georgia win. [Read more 🡒]