The No. 16 Auburn Tigers will face the Ole Miss Rebels for the second time this season, as they travel to Oxford and look to continue their success from their win against Vanderbilt.
The last time the two teams faced each other, Auburn (16-4, 5-2 SEC) came out with an 82-59 win in Neville Arena. The Tigers shot 58% from the field and 44% behind the arc in that contest. Ole Miss (18-3, 5-3 SEC) shot 37% from the field and 23% behind the arc.
Being on the road, however, will be a different animal as the Tigers have lost their past two road games to Alabama and Mississippi State – shooting less than 30% from 3-point range in both. Rebounding has also been an issue as they have been outrebounded by 20 in those two games combined.
“We know all the things that we have to do on the road,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “Got to take care of the ball. Shoot it better, obviously. We've not shot the ball from three particularly on the road as well. And we’ve got to continue to improve our rebounding. We do those things, and we give ourselves a chance.”
Despite the Tigers' struggles away from the Plains, senior forward Johni Broome has been a team leader on the road, averaging 15.6 points per game in nine road games this season.
“I think Johni has turned it up in SEC play. It’s great to see that ability,” Pearl said. “I thought he turned it up toward the end of last season. I think he turned it up at the G-League combine to get himself invited to the NBA Combine. He has the ability to turn it up. Which, I think is great in March. I think that’s what you’re kind of hoping from other players at this time of the year. "
A win here would be a boost to the Tigers' NCAA tournament resume as they seek their first Quad 1 win of the season. They have been 0-4 in Quad 1 opportunities so far, but 17-0 in all other games. The Tigers will have numerous chances for Quad 1 wins as four of their next five games are Quad 1 opportunities.
“I look at this opportunity... all right, if we want to win the league, and think we have a chance to win the league because we have a chance to be between one and about eight or nine, as we sit right now,” Pearl said. “That’s about where we could be. Then you’ve got to start thinking about getting a game like this.”
Auburn is 7-3 in its last 10 matchups against Ole Miss and will look to add another game to the win column. The Tigers will tip off against the Rebels inside the Sandy and John Black Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. CST with the game being broadcast on the SEC Network.
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William Halliday started with The Plainsman in fall 2022. He is a journalism major from Memphis, Tennessee.
Twitter: @wphalliday3
