Saturday was golden for the Auburn Tigers! The top-ranked Tigers finally broke the Rupp Arena curse, securing their first win there since 1988. And then, it got even sweeter. That win over Kentucky meant Auburn clinched a share of the SEC regular season championship. Great, right? But, when their in-state rival, Mark Sears & Alabama, lost in brutal fashion to Tennessee, it handed Auburn the outright SEC title. 

The loss was particularly painful for Alabama, considering they held a four-point lead with just 36 seconds left. A series of late-game mishaps saw them fumble the lead away, and Tennessee snatched the victory. And Bruce Pearl’s crew loved every second of it.

Johni Broome and his teammates were on the bus heading back from Kentucky, watching the closing moments of the game. The celebration was caught on camera and posted to Auburn men’s basketball’s official X account. Broome summed it up best: “We ain’t sharing,” before Dylan Cardwell led the whole squad in singing ‘Rocky Top.’

This comes days ahead of two teams’ second meeting in the regular-season finale this Saturday, but before that, Auburn faces No. 21 Texas A&M, while Alabama has a must-win game against Florida. Sears isn’t backing down, though. 

When asked about Tigers celebrating their loss, he made it clear: they’re not done yet. “I mean, you know, we still got the SEC tournament and we get to see Auburn,” he said. “We got to take care of Florida first, obviously, we can’t overlook them, but like we still have Auburn for their senior night.”

However, the Crimson Tide shouldn’t forget that Tigers took them down in a 94-85 showdown just last month—the first-ever 1 vs. 2 matchup in SEC history. And they did it with Johni Broome dropping a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double while not even fully healthy. But Sears & Co. do seek revenge this time and Tigers must be careful. 

And Bama’s leading scorer isn’t just looking for revenge against Auburn—he wants all the smoke. “We’ll still be able to see them [Auburn], and then hopefully in the SEC tournament we can see Tennessee and all the teams we lost to. So like, you know, hopefully we’ll be able to see all the teams we lost to again.”

That list of Alabama’s SEC losses include Ole Miss, Auburn, Mizzou, and Tennessee. And now, Sears has a chance to start his revenge tour against Auburn on Saturday. While Saturday has proven to be Tigers day, we never know what could happen if Crimson Tide’s leading scorer gets hot, especially after his latest big feat.

Mark Sears dribbles into the Bob Cousy Award finalist list

Despite some recent struggles, Alabama still has one of the deepest rosters in college basketball. But this team lives and dies by Mark Sears. The fifth-year senior is Alabama’s heartbeat, leading the team with 19.1 points per game and 5.0 assists per game. 

And if the Tide want to make back-to-back Final Fours, he has to keep playing at an elite level. Sears has been on fire lately, and his dominance hasn’t gone unnoticed. For the second straight season, he’s been named one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s best point guard. 

He joins company alongside Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Marquette’s Kam Jones, Purdue’s Braden Smith, and Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler. UConn’s Tristen Newton took home the award last year, but Sears is making a strong case for himself this season. The Muscle Shoals native isn’t just Alabama’s top scorer and playmaker—he’s also the NCAA Division I active leader in career points (2,706).

For the time being, the only goal in his mind is winning the last two regular season games. Bama heads into the final week of the regular season locked in a battle for that No. 2 seed with Florida. And their midweek showdown isn’t just another game—it’s a make-or-break moment in the standings.

The Tide can’t afford to slip up against both Florida and Auburn, or things could get messy real quick. With Tennessee and Mizzou lurking right behind them, a couple of losses could mean waving goodbye to that all-important double-bye. But on the flip side, two wins this week, and Nate Oats’ squad is locked in as the No. 2 seed heading into the postseason.

But, the squad isn’t taking it light as they know Florida is on fire, winning 10 of its last 12 games. Will Richard has been unconscious lately, averaging 27.5 points over his last two games. Oh, and by the way, Florida won both matchups against Alabama last season.

So yes, before Mark Sears can start checking names off his revenge list, Alabama has some work to do. Will they bounce back, or will Auburn get yet another reason to celebrate?