To best preview this game, perhaps it is most instructive to recap the first meeting between the cross-state combatants. Fundamentally, since nothing has changed on the Auburn end, the same challenges that the ‘Barn presented in mid-January hold true for the Tide’s return trip to Auburn.
The last time the pair met, just two weeks ago, the highest-ranked recruit in Auburn history had himself quite the night, as Jabari Smith’s stat line read: 25 points, 7 reb, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 assist. That was somewhat to be expected. The consensus Top-5 lottery pick is the best player in the SEC, and one of the short-list candidates for Wooden POTY honors.