TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It sounded like water or waves crashing. Alabama took an extra step during practice Thursday as it prepared for Saturday’s trip to Auburn, Ala. Taking a page from the football team’s playbook, basketball coach Avery Johnson pumped artificial noise into the Crimson Tide’s practice gym in an attempt to replicate the raucous crowd his team will soon face.
“Auburn is one of the louder places we play on the road,” Johnson said. “We just wanted to give our players a little bit of a feel of what they are going to hear. We just didn’t use the bad language.”
Auburn Arena hasn’t been kind to Johnson. The head coach is winless in his three previous trips across the state, including a 90-71 beatdown last year in which his team dug itself into an insurmountable hole from the start.
“The last time we went there they got off to something like an 11-2 or 13-2 start to the game,” Johnson said. “In the SEC Tournament, we were able to hold them at bay early in the game. They’ve always tried to throw a knockout punch in the first four or five minutes and we haven’t responded.”
Thursday was the first time Alabama has used artificial noise during practice. Players said at times the gym got so loud it was hard to hear themselves think much less communicate to one another.
“We were using that to get used to talking over noise,” forward Galin Smith said. “Just so once we get to the game we won’t be as nervous or have so many emotions.”
Despite the good effort, Smith admitted the crowd inside Auburn Arena will likely be louder than what the team faced in practice. The sophomore forward said the environment could be “a little intimidating at first” for those who haven’t experienced it. One player who falls in that category is starting forward Tevin Mack, who sat out last season after transferring from Texas.
“I heard it’s crazy,” Mack said. “I heard the student section is like right there on the court around us, so, I heard they’ll be saying some stuff to us before the game. We’ve got to be prepared for that mentally. We’ll do a good job of that. We’re a mature team, so we’ll be ready for it on Saturday.”
The crowd will only be half the battle. Alabama (13-7, 4-3 in the SEC) will face an Auburn team that was ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation earlier this year. The Tigers (14-6, 3-4) have struggled since the beginning of conference play but snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a 92-58 victory over Missouri.
Auburn does much of its damage from beyond the arc. The Tigers lead the SEC with 222 made 3-pointers, 34 more than second-place Florida. Auburn converted on 16 of 41 shots from beyond the arc during its blowout win over Missouri.
“I don’t think it’s going to be good news for us if they have 41 three-point attempts against us,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to do a good job of seeing why and how they put you in those situations and what we have to do to adjust.”
Saturday’s game will mark the 159th meeting between Alabama and Auburn on the hardwood. The Crimson Tide holds a 95-63 record in the series but is just 26-31 in Auburn. Alabama and Auburn will tipoff Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
“We know who we’re playing. We know where we are playing,” Johnson said. “We understand the rivalry more. We understand how much it means to not only our players but their families, our fans and their families.
“This idea of me taking some cool, calm approach because I was new, a little wet behind the ears to this rivalry, I totally understand it now. We embrace the rivalry even more.”
