Ole Miss walked into a rocking Neville Arena on Wednesday night and was popped by top-ranked Auburn in a 30-point blowout.
The Tigers (26-2, 14-1 SEC) pounced on the Rebels (19-9, 8-7) early in the contest, but Chris Beard coached his team back into contention early, turning a 22-point Ole Miss deficit into a 10-point Auburn lead at halftime. Ole Miss managed to remain within reach up until the midway point of the second half, then the wheels fell off for the visitors as the home team cruised to a 106-76 victory.
The two programs squared off in Oxford earlier this month, with Ole Miss faring much better, losing by just 10 points in a contest that essentially went down to the wire. Efforts in the rematch were valiant at times, but the Rebels had no answer for Auburn big man and national player of the year candidate Johni Broome as the Tigers were simultaneously consistent from three-point range.
Wednesday’s loss marked the third straight for a Rebel squad that opened up conference play red-hot. Nonetheless, Ole Miss sits comfortably in NCAA Tournament projections, but a win or two in the three remaining regular season contests would certainly benefit the team’s potential postseason seeding.
Game Recap
Both teams opened strong in the midweek showdown. Chad Baker-Mazare struck first blood for the Tigers with a triple, but Ole Miss promptly responded. Rebel big man Malik Dia knocked down a three to knot things up 7-7 with 17:57 on the clock. Then, the home team, fueled by a raucous audience, began to impose its will.
Myles Kelly buried a shot from behind the arc to put Auburn up 10-7, and Ole Miss began to crumble. The Rebels had four consecutive fruitless possessions and scored just two points over the next seven minutes. The Tigers capitalized, taking a 29-9 lead near the midway point of the half.
Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell hit a much-needed three to slow the hemorrhaging. Still, Auburn was on a mission to make a statement. Another deep shot by Kelly put the Tigers up 36-14 with eight minutes until the intermission.
Then the pendulum shifted in Ole Miss’ favor as Beard found a defensive recipe that worked while the Rebels came to life offensively. A deep shot from Sean Pedulla cut Auburn’s lead to 17 and gave Ole Miss confidence with six minutes to work with.
From there, the Rebels forced three turnovers as Auburn’s high-volume shooting began to taper off. Pedulla hit another triple at the two-minute mark to put Ole Miss within six points on the scoreboard, breathing new life into a squad that was once seemingly dead in the water. At halftime, Ole Miss trailed 50-40.
The Rebels struck first in the second half courtesy of a layup by Dre Davis, who took Broome to the basket. Dylan Cardwell flushed a dunk to get Auburn on the board on their first offensive possession of the half. Davis continued to take matters into his own hands and knocked down a jumper in Broome’s face. Shortly after, the Seton Hall transfer picked up his fourth foul and was sidelined with nearly 18 minutes on the clock.
Ole Miss battled in Davis’ absence, keeping things respectable. But that all changed midway through the half. Baker-Mazara landed a three-ball, and Cardwell got the crowd riled up with a momentum-garnering dunk to put Auburn up 74-57 with 10:42 left in the game.
From there, the Tigers became an unstoppable force, outscoring Ole Miss 32-19 the rest of the way. Auburn led by as many as 33 points down the stretch. Bruce Pearl notably kept his starters in the matchup well after the game was out of reach.
Impact Players
Broome was undoubtedly the player of the game. The senior scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Baker-Mazara put up 22 points in the contest, while Chaney Johnson scored 13 points and had 6 assists
Pedulla led Ole Miss with 14 points and four rebounds. Davis had 12 points and four rebounds and was starting to heat up before foul trouble rendered him unplayable early in the second half. Jaemyn Brakefield had 13 points off the bench for the Rebels.
Deciding Factor
Auburn made 60% of its buckets and connected on 50% from behind the arc, with 33 of its 106 points coming from deep. Ole Miss, on the other hand, mounted less than half of that figure, only converting on five of 13 three-point attempts.
The Tigers also bullied their conference counterpart at the bucket. Auburn corralled 13 more rebounds than Ole Miss and had 14 more points in the paint. Specifically, Broome was a dominant force inside that the Rebels were incapable of stopping.
The home team also passed the ball well, recording 20 assists on 34 made buckets. In contrast, Ole Miss only had seven assists on its 24 successful shots. Additionally, Auburn turned the ball over two fewer times than one of the most efficient teams at protecting the ball.
Next Up
Ole Miss will return home with a winnable matchup against Oklahoma on the horizon. Tipoff for Saturday’s matchup between the Rebels and Sooners is set for 1 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
