While Auburn fans don’t have a team to cheer for in this year’s NCAA March Madness, they do have a team to cheer against in the University of Alabama. The Tigers’ rival team from across the state pulled off a win in their first-round game over Iona.
Though the Crimson Tide will advance, they played a rough first half and went into halftime leading by only one point. Eventually, the Tide pulled away and held onto their lead to win 68-55, but the Iona boys played a game to be proud of.
Auburn fans became Iona fans real quick around 4:00 p.m. today and were loud and proud on Twitter to show support for the Gaels. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?
Anyone with a soul is a big Iona fan right now!
— Mark Oates (@AuburnTgrMOates) March 20, 2021
My spirit animal pic.twitter.com/iobjWoUIpC
— Auburn Memes (@AuburnMemes) March 20, 2021
We are all Gaels today.
— Geoff Parsh 🦚🅿️🐅🦄 (@bgblutigerfan) March 20, 2021
Bad news: Alabama won. Good news: they aren’t winning much more if that’s the Alabama we see in this tournament
— Graham Carr (@grahamcarr2) March 20, 2021
Alabama and blowing dunks/layups.
— Zack Webster (@ZackWeb95) March 20, 2021
Name a better combination.
Alabama’s Herb Jones, the SEC “player of the year” is shooting 0% (0-15) from 3 in bama’s last 7 games
— Skye Underwood (@SkyeUnderwood) March 20, 2021
Rick Pitino and the Gaels definitely gave Alabama a run for their money, playing at an elite level in the first half that they couldn’t carry over into the second half. The Gaels were held to just one three-pointer in the second half and were outscored in the last eleven minutes 28-13.
Both Herb Jones and John Petty struggled early on for Alabama, and the pair is going to need to step up if they expect to compare to Auburn’s Final Four team. The Crimson Tide will advance in the tournament and face either No. 10 Maryland or No. 7 UConn in the next round of NCAA March Madness on Monday.