TUSCALOOSA — What a circumstance Auburn basketball had for the final 40 minutes of its latest regular season. It'd been up and down in Year One of the Steven Pearl era, but with one game to go, the Tigers could somehow ensure an NCAA Tournament berth. All they had to do was beat their most bitter rival, No. 16 Alabama, on its home court. That wouldn't be an easy task, but an upset victory would've been oh-so poetic for a team on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble, and a fitting exclamation point for a season filled with hair-pulling anguish down the stretch. Surely, that was enough motivation to get the Tigers off and running. Right? Instead, Auburn looked like a team limping toward...
