Alabama vs. Auburn: Picks, Predictions and Odds

Partner Authors Updated: Mar 08 2025 16:38

The final weekend of regular-season competition in the high-powered SEC is headlined by a Saturday showdown between the rival Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers.

Both teams are in the top 10 of the college basketball rankings, but both appear to be limping toward the finish line to a certain extent. No. 7 Alabama has lost two games in a row and four of its last six, while top-ranked Auburn fell at Texas A&M on Tuesday.

Alabama vs. Auburn betting picks and predictions

Alabama +8.0 (-110)

In what is sure to be a spirited affair between two of the most talented teams in the nation, 8 points are too many to give an underdog side even when it has to go on the road and play in a hostile environment. As such the best Alabama vs. Auburn prediction to make against the spread is the Crimson Tide +8.0.

Although head coach Nate Oats’ squad has dropped four games in the span of three weeks, those losses have come to four opponents ranked in the top 15 – including three in the top five. It’s not like the alarm bells need to be sounded at any kind of high volume.

Alabama also owns a pair of top-25 wins during this stretch, beating Kentucky by 13 points and Mississippi State by 38. Mark Spears (19.5 ppg) has scored more than 20 points in five consecutive contests, a hot streak that features three performances of at least 30 points.

Auburn won the previous head-to-head matchup by nine points on February 15, but Sears was 4-for-17 from the floor and 2-for-11 from three-point range. The Crimson Tide did well to keep it close considering that their star could not throw it in the ocean, and nothing indicates that Spears will be similarly cold in the rematch.

Auburn’s 15-2 record in the SEC is extremely impressive, one that has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, but this team is arguably not quite as dominant as that mark suggests. The Tigers have lost two of their last seven outings and they did not lead for a single second in their setback against Texas A&M earlier this week.

Six of their conference victories have come by single-digits. Auburn will occasionally blow out an opponent, but for the most part it allows teams to hang around. Perhaps a road game at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium is the only situation in which giving 8.0 points to Alabama would be a reasonable risk. A rivalry game against Auburn is not the same kind of situation.

Under 178.5 points (-110)

It is true that an under bet can never feel overly safe in a matchup involving Alabama and Auburn, but at the same time backing the over when the total is set at a lofty 178.5 points seems even more risky. Especially when considering that this is an arch rivalry game with high stakes, the intensity level is going to be off the charts and there will be no shortage of commitment levels to defense.

All things considered, the under looks like the best bet to make for this second Alabama vs. Auburn prediction. The losing team in Auburn’s last five games has scored no more than 78 points. On February 18 the Tigers beat Arkansas 67-60 and a month before that they scraped past Tennessee 53-51. This team has a lot of depth and talent, but only one player is averaging more than 13.1 ppg (Johni Broome comes in at 18.0 ppg).

Broome was hot in February, but through two March outings he has scored a grand total of 17 points. Alabama boasts one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation, but one potential problem is similar to that of Auburn. Spears is the only man on the roster scoring more than 11.7 ppg. Whenever the senior guard cools off, there is a chance the entire scoring well can dry up.

Alabama vs. Auburn odds

Alabama	+280
Auburn	-360
Spread	Auburn -8.0
Total Points	O/U 178.5

Read the latest College Basketball news on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.