Perhaps trying a bit too hard to praise the victor, Alabama coach Mark Gottfried described Auburn’s play Saturday as “nearly flawless.”

Or maybe he was just talking about the first five minutes of each half. With that addendum, he’d be spot on.

The Tigers scored nearly half of their points during the first five minutes of each half before 8,788 fans at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Both early runs proved too detrimental for the Tide to overcome, as Auburn coasted to an 85-71 victory.

The win was Auburn’s first in the SEC and fourth in its last five Iron Bowls of basketball.

“Obviously,” Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said, “the start we had was key.”

Make that starts.

Auburn outscored the Tide 42-10 in the first five minutes of each half Saturday. The 23-6 run in the first half made it an uphill battle from the start for Alabama (11-6, 1-2 SEC). The 19-4 start to the second half quickly fattened what became a 5-point Auburn lead and made it appropriate for Auburn fans to request playing time for some of their favorite backups.

The Tigers (11-6, 1-2) forced 10 of Alabama’s 20 turnovers during the stretches, as they frustrated the Tide — without senior point guard Ronald Steele — with a strangling full-court press.

“We have quick guards and most of our big men are really quick,” Auburn forward Korvotney Barber said. “Most teams don’t prepare for it and we took advantage of it and they turned the ball over.”

The tight defense has been a staple of Auburn basketball all season. What it did with those turnovers Saturday has not.

The Tigers came away with 34 points off Alabama’s turnovers.

‘The guards reacted quickly and got their hands on a lot of balls,” Lebo said. “Our shots were easy and they kept turning the ball over.”

The way Auburn capitalized on Alabama’s turnovers differed from half to half.

Fresh off a universally poor shooting performance against Florida, the Tigers came out with the same chucker mentality, but actually got the majority of its attempts — both quality and questionable — to fall.

Tay Waller led that charge, as he hit his first four 3-point attempts on his way to 22 points. One game after a 5-of-27 performance behind the arc, Auburn finished 10-for-20.

“If it was an off day, then I would have missed them,” Waller said. “But today I was on. It gave me my confidence back and my teammates kept giving me the ball.”

Waller didn’t even attempt a 3 until midway through the second half, but Auburn had already taken control by slashing to the hoop or pounding it to Barber in the paint.

With freshman big man JaMychal Green inhibited with four fouls, and the respect it gathered with its first-half shooting performance, Auburn picked up a number of easy layups during its 18-2 run to start the second half. Barber, who finished with 18 points, proved that when he took a pass from Quantez Robertson at the foul line, saw an open path to the hoop and threw down an uncontested two-handed dunk.

“We have to take responsibility because I think that we can defend better,” Gottfried said. “But you also have to give them credit … They played great basketball.”

That great basketball Gottfried saw was driven by Auburn’s defense, which, for better or worse, has showed up to every game. The offense just returned the favor this time – fashionably early.

“When you make shots, it’s contagious, just like when you miss shots,” Lebo said. “I wish I knew what the difference was from one night to the other.”

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