Bama's Tony Mitchell suspended

Auburn won’t have to deal with one of Alabama’s “Big Three” when the rivals collide tonight in Auburn.

Junior forward Tony Mitchell has been suspended indefinitely for “conduct detrimental to the team,” Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant announced Monday.

“The decision was made after the game on Saturday,” Grant said at his press conference, adding the reason for the suspension was an “accumulation” of things.

Mitchell, who averages more than 13 points and seven rebounds per game, was not in the starting lineup for the first time this season in Saturday’s double-overtime victory over Ole Miss.

The coach attributed that to a decision based on practice in the week leading up to the game. Instead, freshman Nick Jacobs started.

Mitchell was named the Most Valuable Player of the Puerto Rico Tipoff tournament, averaging 19 points and 9.7 rebounds in Alabama victories over Maryland, Wichita State and Purdue. He scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season.

He scored in double figures in 15 of Alabama’s first 16 games. The only exception is when he turned his ankle and played just eight minutes against Alabama A&M in a November game.

But Mitchell’s production dropped noticeably during Alabama’s recent slide. He scored eight points in a loss at Mississippi State, was shut out at home in a loss to Vanderbilt and scored just six points in a close loss at Kentucky.

He did score 11 points each in the Tide’s loss at South Carolina and home win over Arkansas.

Mitchell showed signs of snapping out of his funk against Ole Miss. He came off the bench, played 31 minutes and scored 14 points, had four rebounds and blocked a shot. Two clutch free throws by Mitchell helped seal the 69-67 Alabama victory in double overtime.

Grant did not appear to be angry with Mitchell in the wake of that game.

“Tony stepped up and was terrific down the stretch,” Grant said on Saturday. “He took a blow to the head in the first half and had to sit for a while in the second half, but he was dying to get back in there and he really made some plays for us there in the end.”

However, Mitchell returned to the bench area, very briefly, a couple times on Saturday. Grant did not confirm reports about a disagreement between Mitchell and a trainer or an assistant coach over the player not being cleared to re-enter the game.

Mitchell’s suspension likely will force Alabama (15-4, 4-4 SEC) to rely on its depth. The Tide’s bench which outscored Ole Miss’s reserves 34-8 on Saturday. Grant did say he might try some different player combinations.

“With this game I don’t have any preconceived notions of whether we are playing eight, 10 or whatever we’re playing,” the coach said. “I think our guys all have to be ready, if the opportunity presents itself to make contributions to our team, in order to be successful.”

Auburn has lost just one home game this season – to top-ranked Kentucky.

Six of the 12 SEC teams are winless in league games away from home. Outside of Kentucky, which is 5-0 in SEC road games, the rest of the league is a combined 7-37 in SEC road games. Only Florida (2-1) also has a winning road record, and the Gators play at Kentucky tonight.

“Obviously, everyone wants to protect their home court,” Grant said. “I think you’re just seeing good, competitive basketball. A lot of games are coming down to the last minute or two.”

Junior guard Andrew Steele said every team in the SEC is good.

“Every environment is tough,” Steele said. “You’ve got very passionate fan bases. Teams compete hard and there’s a lot of pride at stake. Teams want to defend their home court.”

Auburn is no exception. The Tigers (13-10, 3-6) lost a road heartbreaker at Mississippi State last Saturday.

“I’m impressed with what I’ve seen of them on film,” Grant said. “They’re doing a really good job defensively and mixing up their defenses. Their defense has been able to create offense for them.”

Senior JaMychal Green will make his final appearance in Auburn.

“They’re a good defensive team,” Green said of the Tigers. “They have a tough zone. We’ll be ready to face a lot of zone.”

Green currently leads the Tide with 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

Gabriel leads the Tigers with 12.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Sullivan averages over 12 points per outing. Point guard Ward combined with those two to score 62 of Auburn’s 88 points against Mississippi State.