A valiant effort by Ole Miss was not enough to propel the Rebels to a win over No. 3 Auburn in the quarter-finals of this year’s SEC Tournament. The top-seed Tigers came away with a 62-57 victory in Nashville.
With three minutes left in the contest, the top-seeded Tigers (28-4, 15-3 SEC) had taken a 10-point lead — their largest of the afternoon. A little over two minutes later, the Rebels (22-11, 10-8 SEC) had effectively whittled the deficit down to one possession. But national player of the year candidate Johni Broome made a strong move to the basket in the waning seconds of the game to secure a 62-57 victory, and a clean sweep over the Rebels, for Auburn.
Ole Miss leaned on stalwart defense in the matchup and effectively traded blows with a team that ranked No. 1 in the nation for a lion’s share of the current season. The last time the Rebels faced the Tigers, the red and blue were on the wrong side of a 30-point beatdown. Friday’s outing in Nashville proved that Ole Miss means business and will be a threat in the postseason.
“The message after the game today [is we have] a hurt locker room,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said. “I didn’t think we got beat today, we just ran out of time.”
Beard is not one to celebrate moral victories, but the second-year frontman should certainly be optimistic about the road ahead for his group. So far in the month of March, the Rebels have defeated three NCAA Tournament teams (Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Arkansas) and taken a projected No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Dance to the wire.
Speaking of March Madness, when brackets are being filled out by eager spectators across the map, industry experts anticipate Ole Miss being in the No. 6-7 seed ballpark. This will be the Rebels’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years.
Game Recap
Dre Davis shot out of a cannon early in the matchup, scoring five straight to put Ole Miss up early. As has been the case every time the two teams have faced off this year, Auburn had a quick counter. Denver Jones knocked in a pair of triples to knot things up 6-6 with 16:46 left in the 1st half.
A triple by Jaemyn Brakefield put Ole Miss up five, and just when it appeared that the Rebels had an effort-driven edge, the pendulum quickly swung in the opposite direction. Johni Broome, who was scoreless in the first seven minutes of action, began to impose his will. Nine points from the Tiger big man and a Tahaad Pettiford triple later, Auburn claimed a 27-18 advantage with 3:11 on the clock.
Despite a multitude of fruitless offensive possessions, which were underscored by poor shooting, Ole Miss managed to stay within reach on the scoreboard. With 1:20 until the midway intermission, the Rebels trailed by five. Jaylen Murray was gifted a wide-open three-pointer at the 35-second mark, but missed it. Jones ended the half with a three-ball to give Auburn a 29-22 lead.
Broome opened the second half with a layup. Ole Miss quickly countered, scoring three straight buckets, two of which came off of forced Auburn turnovers. And just like that, the Rebels were within three points of their SEC foe.
Tiger guard Myles Kelly ended the Rebels’ scoring surge with back-to-back buckets, one being a triple. Broome fired his team up with a momentum-grabbing dunk. The Tigers led 38-30 with 16:28 left in the game.
Malik Dia landed a triple to cut into the deficit. Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara immediately countered with a three-ball on the other side of the court. Nonetheless, that did not discourage the Rebels, who remained in the fight.
With just under 10 minutes left to play, Ole Miss forced Auburn to commit a shot clock violation. Sean Pedulla, one day after sinking a game-winner over Arkansas, connected on a layup to start a rally. Another Tiger turnover later, the Rebels were within two points. And in the midst of a four-minute Auburn scoring drought, Pedulla laid the ball into the basket to tie things up 46-46 with 6:56 on the clock.
50 seconds later, Chaney Johnson hit a three to give the Tigers the lead. Ole Miss continued to battle defensively and forced multiple turnovers over the next few minutes, but the offense was not on par. In that span, Auburn posted its largest buffer of the night, 57-47.
Three minutes remained in a contest that was seemingly slipping away from a Rebel squad that had managed to stay in the ring against one of the sport’s juggernauts. A fastbreak dunk by Dia off of an Auburn turnover lowered the deficit to six points. With 1:44 on the clock, Murray was gifted a wide-open redemption shot from behind the arc. The look was no good and Baker-Mazara punished Ole Miss on the other end with a three-point play stemming from a dunk.
Ole Miss had a ray of hope after forcing Auburn to cough the ball up twice in 30 seconds and mounting a 6-0 run. The Tigers led 60-57 with 38 seconds left in regulation. Broome’s strong look at the basket was not rebutted by Ole Miss and Auburn walked away victorious.
Impact Players
Johni Broome was the player of the game with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The senior was 8-14 from the field and 7-10 from the free-throw line. Denver Jones was the only other Tiger in double figures with 13 points.
Dre Davis and Sean Pedulla led a balanced scoring effort for Ole Miss with 12 points a piece. Malik Dia was close to recording a double-double. He had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Deciding Factor
Three-point shooting plagued both teams all afternoon. Ole Miss felt more of the brunt, though. The Rebels were 4-23 (17%) from behind the arc. Auburn hit two more deep shots in the contest.
Rebounding, Ole Miss’ weakest spot as a team, played to Auburn’s advantage. The Tigers grabbed 10 more boards, but the Rebels had seven more second-chance points. Auburn also had six more bench points.
Outside of those factors, the Rebels won in many categories, including turnovers, fast-break points, free-throw percentage, and steals.
Ole Miss remained without forward Mikeal Brown-Jones, who missed Wednesday’s game against Arkansas for “personal reasons,” as reported by the team’s head coach. Chris Beard said he is hopeful Brown-Jones will return to the team “as quickly as possible.”
Next Up
Ole Miss will learn its NCAA Tournament landing spot during the Selection Sunday show this weekend, which will be aired on CBS at 5 p.m. CT.
