College basketball grades: Alabama, Auburn earn high marks for winning trap games before No. 1 vs. 2 clash

Tuesday night brought a classic trap spot for two SEC titans with a big weekend ahead. No. 1 Auburn was on the road in Vanderbilt’s funky Memorial Gymnasium against a team with two victories against top-10 teams on its resume, while No. 2 Alabama traveled to play a Texas squad led by a likely lottery pick in Tre Johnson.

With the Tigers and Crimson Tide set to square off Saturday in the first-ever No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown between SEC teams, the slate was a set up for a lookahead letdown from one or both. Instead, Auburn and Alabama each handled business in convincing fashion. The Tigers raced out to a 15-0 lead over the Commodores and then finished strong for a 78-62 win.

Alabama never gave the Longhorns a glimmer of hope in a sparkling offensive performance as the Tide downed Texas 103-80 behind 17 made 3-pointers. The successful Tuesday showings from the Tide and Tigers ensured the highest possible stakes for Saturday’s meeting. The Iron Bowl football rivals will be squaring off on the hardwood with the No. 1 ranking in college basketball on the line.

Here is the full grading rundown of the 10 highest-ranked teams that played weekday games.

No. 1 Auburn

Result: 80-68 win at Vanderbilt

Auburn started hot and finished hot while bouncing back from its first SEC loss. The in-between parts were a bit iffy, as Vanderbilt rallied from a 15-0 deficit to take the lead. But in the end, the Tigers handled business against a quality foe on the road, even on a night when National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome wasn’t at his peak. Grade: A-

No. 2 Alabama

Result: 103-80 win at Texas

Alabama went nuclear offensively, led by a career-high 22 points from sophomore forward Jaren Stevenson. The Crimson Tide hit 17 of 29 shots from 3-point range and got 49 points from their bench. Six players had two or more assists in a clinical dissection that showed why this team is a legitimate national title contender. Grade: A

Result: 81-68 win at Mississippi State

Already down second-leading scorer Alijah Martin, Florida also lost starting center Alex Condon with an ankle injury in the first minute. No matter, the Gators throttled a projected NCAA Tournament team on the road with a masterful second half. A 16-6 edge in points off turnovers after the break helped UF build a 24-point second half edge. Grade: A

Result: 78-57 win vs. Cal

Duke never let Cal have any hope in a wire-to-wire win. Cooper Flagg dominated with 27 points in a nice bounce-back performance following a frustrating end to Saturday’s loss at Clemson. Tyrese Proctor’s hot streak continued with 18 points, bringing his average over the past four to 18.5 points. The Bears tried to throw some zone at Duke, but it did little to disrupt a machine-like march to an easy win. Grade: A

Result: 75-64 loss at Kentucky

Kentucky cracked the code on Tennessee’s elite defense. The Wildcats completed a season sweep of their border foe by knocking down 12 of 24 3-pointers against the Vols just two weeks after posting an identically accurate mark in the first meeting. UK is the only team to shoot 50% from the floor or from 3-point range against the Vols this season, and it’s happened twice. Grade: C

Result: 76-65 win vs. Baylor

Houston never let Baylor have any hope in the second half as the Cougars won their 16th game in 17 tries. As per usual, Houston used a significant edge in turnover margin (15-7) and second-chance points (16-7) to snuff the life out of its opponent. Next up is a massive Saturday showdown at No. 13 Arizona with first-place in the Big 12 on the line. Grade: A

Result: 75-73 loss at Michigan 

No one other than Braden Smith scored for Purdue in the final four minutes as Michigan outscored the Boilermakers 14-8 down the  stretch. A 26-8 disparity in free-throw attempts also hurt the Boilermakers, who squandered an opportunity to seize solo possession of first in the Big Ten standings. Ultimately, it was a close road loss vs. a quality league foe. No alarm bells here. Grade: B-

Result: 69-53 win vs. Georgia

A significant difference between this Texas A&M team and the first five coached by Buzz Williams is becoming undeniable: this version of the Aggies is far better defensively than any of his previous squads. After holding Georgia to 33% shooting — and just 18.2% in a dominant second half — A&M ranks No. 6 nationally in defensive efficiency at KenPom. Grade: A

Result: 73-71 loss at Villanova

Entering Wednesday night’s loss, no Big East opponent had shot better than 48.1% from the floor against St. John’s, which carried a 10-game winning streak into Finneran Pavilion. But Villanova caught fire, shooting 53.1% and executing in a critical late-game situation to get a go-ahead 3-pointer from Tyler Perkins. Perhaps the Red Storm are not an impenetrable wall after all. Grade: C

Result: 77-65 win vs. TCU

Leading scorer Curtis Jones didn’t produce a point in the second half, yet Iowa State still outscored UCF 45-35 after the break. That was encouraging for a Cyclones team seeking to find its stride again after a recent three-game losing streak dampened a memorable start. With home games against Cincinnati and Colorado up next, the good times will be rolling again at Hilton Coliseum.  Grade: A-