Fresh off an upset win at Arkansas, Auburn now looks to carry the momentum into a home tilt with Ole Miss, which defeated Auburn in Oxford earlier this season.
The Tigers traveled to Fayetteville on Wednesday as a 16.5-point underdog but exited with a 90-86 win behind Bryce Brown’s nine 3-pointers, which was the most ever in a single game by an Auburn freshman.
Auburn also received contributions from Tyler Harris, Cinmeon Bowers, TJ Lang, all of whom scored in double figures, and Horace Spencer, who recorded a career-high seven blocks.
“We found a formula to win,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “So I guess the formula would be for seven guys to have career nights all on the same night. Quite a formula, isn't it? … It took that kind of an effort — 15 threes, shooting 65 percent from three — to be able to win. I'm very proud of our guys and really, really pleased that they were able to have some success.”
The win, which was Auburn’s first SEC road win this season, snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Tigers.
They now must find a way to solve Ole Miss guard Stefan Moody, who torched Auburn for 24 points, including 22 in the second half, in the 80-63 loss at Ole Miss on Jan. 27.
Auburn will also have to handle Ole Miss forwards Sebastian Saiz, Tomasz Gielo and Anthony Perez, each of whom are 6-foot-9.
Saiz, who averages 12 points and 9.2 rebounds, missed the previous game against Auburn with an eye injury, but Ole Miss still won the battle on the boards, 40-33.
“We did not let them destroy us on the boards, and they played with great effort and energy,” Pearl said. “They’re all physical, older guys that get after you. That'll be our challenge, but at the same time we're also bigger when we play bigger lineups, and so we should be able to match up with them physically. How you game plan and guard Moody is everything.”
With Kareem Canty having left the team and T.J. Dunans (knee) and Tahj Shamsid-Deen (shoulder) out with major injuries, Auburn has relied on a seven-man rotation, with walk-on point guard Patrick Keim and senior forward Jordon Granger joining the starters.
With such limited bodies, Pearl said he needs contributions from everyone every time Auburn steps on the floor.
“I do think it will take big nights from a lot of guys for us to be able to win,” Pearl said. “If you’ve got four guys in double-figure scoring, but you’re only playing seven guys, there’s not much margin for error. So when we put it all together like we did, we can be right there.”
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