The Auburn Tigers(24-3,12-2) will be looking to regain traction as they host the Ole Miss Rebels (13-14, 4-10) on Wednesday.
After their road loss to Florida on Saturday, the Tigers find themselves ranked third in the latest AP Poll. Returning home to take on Ole Miss allows Auburn to regain its touch as the regular season rounds to a close. Ole Miss has had their struggles as well recently, the Rebels have a 1-4 record in their last five matchups, their most recent game was an 85-68 victory over Georgia.
In their previous matchup, the Rebels lead by as much as 14 points before the Tigers pieced together an impressive second-half effort to decimate the Rebel lead and achieve the victory. Walker Kessler led both teams in scoring with 20 points, he also added 10 rebounds and seven blocks to his stat sheet. The turnover differential was the X-factor as the Tigers' 17 points off of turnovers and 10 fast break points helped them edge out the Rebels.
This Ole Miss team is an interesting one, the roster features players that have the offensive capability to put up large scoring outputs, but consistency issues and injuries have hindered this unit. The team will be without Daeshun Ruffin, the team's second leading scorer, who suffered a torn ACL earlier this month.
Ole Miss is a team that Coach Bruce Pearl regarded as “capable… [and] well-coached”. Pearl praised the Rebels for their 3-point shot ability and depth saying “they got seven guys that can make the three”.
The Rebels currently rank third in the conference for 3-point percentage of 32.9%.
Jarkel Joiner, Ole Miss's leading scorer, is questionable for the game. He was sidelined with an injury in the past matchup. Matthew Murrell will be another key player for the Rebel offense. Pearl regarded the duo as “great individual one-on-one players…great jump shot makers."
Murrell’s 37.3% 3-point percentage is ranked 12th in the conference. Ole Miss also has four other players that rank within the top 20 of the conference in 3-point percentage. Pearl says that “defending the three-ball will be important.”
Auburn, meanwhile, has struggled lately from 3-point range.
"That's an area we need definitely shoot better from…we can always get better looks…it’s a difference-maker," Pearl said. "When we continue to make those shots, we will be playing better”.
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 59 points through two games last week, including a career-high 31 points against Vanderbilt. Pearl noted that while Smith’s impressive scoring output is great, the help of others will help them continue to play like a championship team.
“We are best when everyone contributes” Pearl said.”When we all start picking up…and playing a little better, then he can continue to be productive and not have to carry us.”
The spread of point contribution among the Tigers will play a vital role in course of this matchup. Ole Miss poises as a legitimate threat from range and has a variety of scorers with the ability to break out at any given moment. Defensively, Auburn has played well down the stretch and this trend will need to continue as the Tigers draw closer to the end of the regular season.
The game will take place on Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. CST and will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
