It just means more. Alabama and Auburn will compete against one another twice during the 2026-27 college basketball season and could also duke it out in the SEC tournament, but these rival schools cannot get enough of each other. After the Crimson Tide edged out the Tigers, 87-85, in an exhibition game in Birmingham, tensions reached a boiling point.

Multiple players got into heated exchanges that turned physical, forcing coaches and security to take action. A full-blown brawl was avoided, but it is obvious that this game went beyond just a friendly in-state clash. When tempers flare in an exhibition contest, the teams just do not like each other.

Alabama and Auburn student-athletes are conditioned to despise one another on the court, and apparently that also includes after the final buzzer. The NCAA must prevent a chaotic situation, so one has to wonder if fines will be issued.

Things got testy less than five minutes into the game, as Alabama's Keitenn Bristow and Auburn's Thomas Dowd wrestled to the floor for possession. The two big men let everyone know that this was not a typical preseason matchup. SEC animosity runs deep at all times. Even head coaches Nate Oats and Steven Pearl got animated.

MORE action between Alabama and Auburn as the final buzzer sounds 👀 pic.twitter.com/XF5p2gbU38

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) October 23, 2026

Things got HEATED between Auburn and Alabama in tonight’s exhibition 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/O8RxLjStJB

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) October 23, 2026

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Exhibition games are packing extra buzz this year, as the NCAA tries to engage fans from the jump. This sport can often and unfairly be reduced to just one month on the calendar, so by pitting two conference foes against one another, particularly two that have been squaring off for more than a century, there are sure to be fireworks.

And tons of physicality. Auburn and Alabama basketball now have an extra spark, one that they intend to keep until the new season begins in November. Officials will need to be on high alert when these programs collide again, which will be on January 30, 2027.

Can they cool off by then? Might be wishful thinking.