Auburn basketball vs. Alabama preview: The Iron Bowl rematch

The Auburn basketball team will host Alabama in The Jungle tonight and try to even up the series after a tough loss two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa

The highly anticipated rematch between Alabama and Auburn basketball has finally arrived. The Tide and the Tigers will tip off from Neville Arena tonight at 6:00 p.m. and Auburn will be hoping to make up for the earlier loss to Alabama a couple weeks ago.

Auburn fell to Alabama in Tuscaloosa and then lost again on the road against Mississippi State. The Tigers got back in the win column after a midweek contest with Vanderbilt at home before finally kicking the road jitters and earning their first quad one win against the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford.

It was a performance that head coach Bruce Pearl called "the best win of the season" and earned Johni Broome SEC play of the week honors in addition to bumping the Tigers up four spots to No. 12 in the AP Poll.

Of course, the Iron Bowl of Basketball means more than another Quad 1 win or keeping the streak of home wins alive. It's about pride, and it's about taking down a rival. A few things that will help the Tigers take down the Tide include managing Mark Sears, forcing turnovers, and preventing fast breaks.

Sears led the charge for Alabama against Auburn, putting up 22 points and eight assists. He's a threat on the perimeter, and keeping him covered up will help limit Alabama's offense. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Alabama is turning over the ball at a rate of 16.6 percent in conference play, which is #13 in the SEC. With the roudy student section's help, the Tigers need to force turnovers and capitalize on those points.

In the same vein, Auburn will have to control the ball on their end and limit turnovers, because Alabama is great at putting up points off fast breaks. With The Jungle behind them, the Tigers should be able to secure a home victory over Alabama.