TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Head coach Bruce Pearl knew his Auburn team was going to lose at some point. That first loss finally came Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa where the No. 4 Tigers dropped an 83-64 contest against Alabama to fall to 15-1 on the season.
"First of all, I'm very proud of my team for winning our first 15 games," Pearl said. "I think you could see why I've been saying we are a good team. And yet, I've yet to say we are a very good team. To be able to beat a good team in Alabama on their home floor, you have to play very good. We didn't come close."
Freshman Isaac Okoro led the way for Auburn with 13 points, 12 of which came in the final 7:14 of the first half. Okoro scored five straight points in the final minute, knocking down a 3 and then turning a steal into a transition dunk to the cut the Alabama lead to nine (36-27) at the intermission.
The freshman has now scored in double figures in 12 of Auburn's 16 games this season. He also added four rebounds, three steals and two blocks on the night.
Austin Wiley and Jamal Johnson, both natives of Alabama, scored 10 points apiece for the Tigers. Wiley pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the season, tying him for second in the SEC. For Johnson, it was his third game in double figures this season. The sophomore came off the bench and made 3 of his 5 shots from beyond the arc.
Senior Danjel Purifoy, another in-state player, scored all eight of his points in the second half. His 3 early on was part of a 13-6 spurt that brought Auburn within two points at 42-40 with 14:49 left. That would be as close as it got, though, as the Crimson Tide responded with seven straight points.
Alabama sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. led all scorers with a game-high 25 points.
Though the Tigers won the battle on the glass with 43 total rebounds, they struggled on the offensive end, shooting 32 percent from the field and finishing with 21 turnovers.
"We were really sloppy offensively," Pearl said. "Pacing, timing, feel. A lot of that starts with our point guards. We don't just shoot it well enough offensively to make up for what we don't execute or space, and it caught up with us tonight. We'll have another opportunity this week to shore that up."
"We can learn a lot from this (loss)," added Wiley. "We just have to keep our head, keep our composure. Even in tough times throughout the game, we have to finish shots. We just have to be physical all throughout the game and make free throws. There are just a lot of things."
Auburn will look to respond to its first loss with another road trip to Florida on Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on CBS.