Nate Oats has seen the Iron Bowl of basketball evolve in his time in Tuscaloosa, and now the game has national relevance.

Oats recalled how Bruce Pearl made dramatic improvements at Auburn, and how SEC championships in recent years have run through the state of Alabama as the teams have combined for 3 championships. Oats also cited 9 first-round NBA picks since 2017 in the Alabama-Auburn games.

“There’s been a lot of talent, there’s been a lot of winning between the 2 programs,” Oats said. “There hasn’t been a lot of blowouts, they’re all pretty close games. The fans certainly get into it. Their environment over there is great, I’m sure our environment over here tomorrow night will be great. … It’s taken it from a big game in the state of Alabama, to a big game in the country.”

Oats noted that Auburn is in first-place in the SEC, Alabama’s one game behind.

No. 8 Auburn will travel to Alabama on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. ET game on ESPN.