No. 13 Auburn became the only SEC team to begin the conference slate 5-0 with its 82-59 win over No. 22 Ole Miss. The win was Auburn’s 11th straight victory and continued the Tigers’ undefeated mark at Neville Arena, where they improved to 10-0 this season.
“This is a very good win because of the margin against a good team,” said head coach Bruce Pearl.
The win gave Auburn its fifth straight victory over the Rebels, something it had not accomplished since 1991-93. The 23-point win was the Tigers’ largest over Ole Miss since Jan. 10, 2004, when they won 80-53. With 8:14 to play, Auburn held a 35-point lead against the first ranked team to visit Neville Arena this season.
Auburn had a successful night shooting the basketball against the Rebels. The Tigers were 32-of-55, or 58.2%, from the field in the game and shot 8-of-18, a 44.4% mark, from 3-point range. Auburn missed just one free throw in the game, going 10-of-11 at the line. The eight Auburn 3-pointers were made by eight different players, with every Tiger that attempted a 3-pointer making one.
Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome led the Tigers in scoring with 13 points each. Dylan Cardwell, who set a career-high with 12 points Wednesday night against Vanderbilt, equaled that mark against the Rebels. In total, 12 different Auburn players scored in the game.
It was another big night for the Auburn bench, which scored 40 points with Cardwell leading the Tigers’ bench players. Ole Miss’ bench scored 18 points in the game.
“We’ve been saying all along that when we go to the bench, we don’t drop off,” Pearl said. “Dylan and Johni, two centers that are both different but are both extremely impactful.”
Though Auburn’s shooting marks were extremely successful, the Tigers’ offense had unusual struggles with turnovers. Auburn turned the ball over 16 times, just two off of its season-high of 18 against Alabama State. Nine of the Auburn turnovers came in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Auburn defense created havoc for an Ole Miss offense that came into the game averaging 77.8 points per game. The Rebels struggled from the field, shooting just 21-of-57, and especially from behind the arc, where they were 4-of-17. In addition, Ole Miss committed 17 turnovers, leading to 22 Auburn points.
“They’re locked in and I think they’re beginning to enjoy the fact that they have the ability to make it difficult on the opponent,” Pearl said. “And they’re creating some offense from their defense.”
The struggles were especially noticeable in the second half, a half in which the Rebels shot just 9-of-31. In that half, Ole Miss’s primary means of offense was getting to the foul line, which it did 16 times after the break, compared to only twice before halftime.
Only one Rebel made it to double figures in scoring: former Tiger Allen Flanigan. Flanigan, who was booed every time he touched the ball, finished with 10 points to lead Ole Miss.
Though the Tigers were outrebounded 30-29 and 16-10 on the offensive glass, the Tigers took advantage of their second chances much more effectively than the Rebels. Despite Ole Miss’s six-rebound advantage on the offensive glass, Auburn outscored the Rebels 22-17 in second-chance points.
The Tigers and Rebels will meet again on Saturday, Feb. 3 in Oxford, Mississippi – just two weeks after Auburn’s dominant win.
“Well, two weeks from now, we’ve got to go back to Oxford,” Pearl said. “I’m already starting to get prepared so I’m not going to get too happy.”
Auburn hits the road for a pair of games next week. First, on Wednesday, Jan. 24, the Tigers visit Coleman Coliseum to face Alabama. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 27, Auburn visits Mississippi State. Tipoff between the Tigers and Tide Wednesday evening is set for 6:30 p.m. CST and will be shown live on ESPN.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
