Alabama basketball outlasts Auburn in rivalry slugfest at Coleman Coliseum

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats hoped the Auburn game would show him what kind of team he has.

Is it: A) a competitive group that does what it takes to win? Or B) a lot of really talented players who fold in the middle of tough games against good teams?

That's the question Oats posed the day before the game, and the challenge he indirectly issued to his team. "I'm not sure yet," Oats said. "I hope we have some competitive guys."

Alabama showed Wednesday it does. The Crimson Tide battled in a slugfest of a game and outlasted No. 6 Auburn 79-75 at Coleman Coliseum.

Here are observations and takeaways from the game between Alabama (13-6, 5-1 SEC) and Auburn (16-3, 5-1).

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Rylan Griffen leads first-half surge for Alabama basketball

At first, Alabama looked to be in trouble.

Auburn took an eight-point lead early in the game, but the Crimson Tide didn't fold. Instead, Griffen led the Crimson Tide on a 9-0 run and Alabama soon took a 17-6 lead as he hit two triples.

Griffen hit four before intermission as he became the catalyst for Alabama surpassing Auburn in the first half. Thanks to competitive efforts from the likes of Latrell Wrightsell and Mark Sears, the Crimson Tide held a 44-30 lead at halftime.

Sometimes Alabama hasn't finished halves well, but that wasn't the case in the first half; the Crimson Tide went into the break on a 9-0 run thanks in part to two layups via Sears.

Grant Nelson pushes through early struggles to close for Alabama

Auburn wasn't ready to call it a game at halftime. As expected, the Tigers punched back.

Auburn went on a 9-0 run to start the second half. Meanwhile, Alabama shot 0-for-9 over that span. A few minutes later, the Tigers took the lead back, up 58-57 with 9:15 left.

But Alabama found a way to punch back too. It turned into an all-out slugfest down the stretch where every possession and every free throw mattered.

Nelson made sure to make them count. Nelson had ample opportunities at the free throw line, and he made most of them. He went 8-for-9 from the charity stripe in the second half, and he also slammed home a dunk in the final minutes.

Nelson struggled at times vs. Auburn, but he made several important plays late in the back-and-fourth game to get Alabama the victory. Nelson finished the game with a double-double: 14 points and 11 rebounds.

What's next?

Alabama will play host to LSU on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2) at Coleman Coliseum before making a trip to Athens, Georgia, to face the Bulldogs on Wednesday (5:30 p.m., SEC Network).

Then Alabama will have a rematch with Mississippi State at home on Feb. 3 before another rematch against Auburn on Feb. 7 in Auburn.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball outlasts Auburn in slugfest