BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It wasn’t pretty, and at times it got chippy, but the Alabama men’s basketball team earned bragging rights over in-state foe Auburn four months before the two officially meet on the hardwood after defeating the Tigers 87-85 in “The Feud,” an exhibition match in Legacy Arena on Thursday night.
Despite both teams missing key players, including Alabama missing its two guards, Anderson Diaz (elbow) and Aden Holloway (suspension), the Tide and the Tigers treated Thursday night like a heavyweight boxing match, going blow for blow on the scoreboard and on the floor. Just four minutes in, players began to scrum under the basket, with Alabama head coach Nate Oats and Auburn head coach Steven Pearl right in the middle. Another strike was thrown at the end of the game, when Auburn guard George Kimble III swiped at Alabama sophomore forward Amari Allen, leading to another scuffle at midcourt before Oats and Pearl broke it up, shook hands, and sent both teams on their way…