The No. 1 Auburn Tigers will close out their road trip as they travel to Oxford, MS. to take on the No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels.
The Tigers are off to their best 20-game start in program history with a 19-1 record, the only loss being on the road to the Duke Blue Devils. Auburn will look to continue this record-setting start and remain the only SEC team unbeaten in conference play.
Ole Miss is 16-5 on the season, holding a 5-3 record in the SEC. The Rebels hold wins over No. 21 Louisville, No. 4 Alabama, Georgia and Texas. Their five losses come from No. 10 Purdue, No. 19 Memphis, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 20 Missouri.
Auburn has compiled an impressive resume through the first three months of the season with wins over seven teams that are currently ranked in the AP poll: No. 3 Iowa State, No. 6 Houston, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 10 Purdue, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 19 Memphis and No. 20 Missouri.
“It’s a big game for both clubs,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “Obviously Oxford on a Saturday is going to be pretty lit up.”
The Rebels are coming into this matchup losing three games in a row before finally getting a win over Texas, however all three losses were competitive.
“In their three losses, they’ve lost three games by a combined 12 points,” Pearl said. “Their only loss at home was to Texas A&M where they led the entire game until the very end.”
Senior guard Sean Pedulla leads the Rebels in scoring with 14.5 points per game, while shooting 39.8% from 3-point range on 6.1 attempts. Pedulla is joined in the backcourt by Jaylen Murray and Matthew Murrell. Murray is a senior averaging 11.3 points on solid efficiency while Murrell is a fifth-year senior averaging 10.8 points.
In the frontcourt, the Rebels start Dre Davis and Malik Dia. Davis adds 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds a game. Dia, the 6-9 forward, provides much needed size to a smaller lineup. Dia averages 9.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
The frontcourt is likely the biggest advantage for the Tigers with National Player of the Year contender Johni Broome, who previously missed a couple of games due to an ankle injury. Broome is averaging 18.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.8 blocks. Broome is a vital piece to the Tigers being ranked first in offensive efficiency and 11th in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
Joining Broome in the frontcourt is Dylan Cardwell and Chad Baker-Mazara who bring defense and intensity to the Tigers on-court product. However, Baker-Mazara has increased his scoring output this season to 12.7 from 10.0 in the 2023-24 season.
Miles Kelly and Denver Jones round out the starting lineup for Auburn, with Kelly bringing strong shooting at 42.5% from three and 10.5 points, while Jones averages 10.0 points with tough defense.
“Ole Miss ain’t going to lose to hardly anyone at home, so it’s an opportunity to be a separator,” Pearl said.
The Tigers and Rebels will meet on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. CST. The matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN.
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Marshall is a junior majoring in Journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @marshalldow02
