TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s players stood at midcourt, throwing on T-shirts to celebrate an SEC regular-season championship. They did it at home. Against their biggest rival in a comeback that the school hadn’t experienced for at least a decade.
They brought out signs celebrating a title and cut down nets after a 90-85 overtime win over Auburn on Wednesday, a frenetic game that culminated in the team’s second regular-season conference title in three seasons.
The Crimson Tide trailed by 17 points with 10:49 left in the second half, making it Alabama’s biggest comeback since at least the 2010-11 season. It was also the school’s first overtime win over Auburn since 1985.
It was a game that saw three Auburn starters — forwards Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome and guard Allen Flanigan — foul out and two Alabama players ejected for leaving the bench during a small verbal tussle between Auburn’s Wendell Green Jr. and K.D. Johnson and Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly, who appeared to toss the ball at Broome after coming across the lane for a steal.
Quinerly, who led the Crimson Tide with 24 points, then bumped into Green Jr. causing the small verbal interaction. Rylan Griffen and Charles Bediako came off the bench and ran toward the altercation the referees quickly broke up but got them ejected. Oats said he was worried about Alabama losing momentum at the time of the argument, which came with 7:31 remaining and the Crimson Tide down, 66-58.
It was part of a 16-point run that broug
