NCAA reporter and analyst Andy Katz recently released his rankings of the top 10 college basketball rivalries for the upcoming season, ranking Auburn vs. Alabama 9th on the list.
Katz ranks Duke vs. North Carolina as the number one rivalry in the sport, with Purdue vs. Indiana and Kansas vs. Kansas State following close behind.
The basketball version of the “Iron Bowl” actually doesn’t even rank as the highest SEC Rivalry on the list, as Katz ranks Kentucky vs. Tennessee in the fourth spot.
Rivalries renewed ⚔️@TheAndyKatz ranks his top rivalries for the 23/24 season 👀 pic.twitter.com/d7qs8mq9eh
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) September 25, 2023
While the Auburn/Alabama has historically been all about football, the recent resurgence of both programs under [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] has made the hardwood meetings must-watch television.
Since 2018, the head-to-head series has been split evenly 6-6 among the programs.
In that span, Auburn head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl [/autotag] has led the Tigers to two regular season SEC championships (2018, 2022), an SEC Tournament Championship (2019), four NCAA Tournaments (2018, 2019, 2022, 2022), and a Final Four (2019).
Alabama head coach [autotag]Nate Oats [/autotag] has been just as good at rebuilding his program since he took over.
In the last five years, The Crimson Tide have collected two regular season SEC championships (2021, 2023), two SEC Tournament Championships (2021, 2023), and our NCAA tournament appearances (2018, 2021, 2022, 2023).
We’ll find out which program has the upper hand in 2023-2024 when the season gets underway in just one short month.
As for the games between Auburn and Alabama, the teams will tip off on Jan. 24 in Tuscaloosa before moving to Neville Arena on Feb. 7.
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