As of March 24, 2025, both the University of Alabama and Auburn University have reached the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16. This marks only the third time in history that both teams have advanced this far in the same tournament, with the previous occurrences in 1985 and 1986.
Alabama’s journey to the Sweet 16 in 2025 included a notable victory over Saint Mary’s, where they secured an 80-66 win. Auburn, on the other hand, clinched their spot by defeating the Creighton Blue Jays 82-70, with freshman Tahaad Pettiford contributing 23 points off the bench.
In the 1985 tournament, Auburn advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating Purdue and Kansas before falling to North Carolina. Alabama’s specific performance in the 1985 Sweet 16 is not detailed in the provided sources. The following year, 1986, Auburn reached the Elite Eight after victories over Arizona, St. John’s, and UNLV, eventually losing to Louisville. Alabama’s 1986 tournament run details are not specified in the available information.
The 2025 tournament also saw the Southeastern Conference (SEC) set a new record by having seven teams reach the Sweet 16, surpassing the previous record of six teams held by the ACC in 2016. The SEC teams achieving this milestone include Kentucky, Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Auburn.
This simultaneous success of Alabama and Auburn in the 2025 NCAA Tournament highlights the growing competitiveness and prominence of college basketball programs in the state of Alabama.
