The Auburn Tigers (11-7, 2-3) have seen undesirable results thus far this season, but they have a chance to earn not only a telling victory but also to start a conference win streak on Tuesday against the Ole Miss Rebels (11-7, 3-2).
The 2025 campaign has been characterized by ups and downs for the Tigers, currently sitting at seven losses, which is six more than they had at this point during 2024's historic season. Auburn is coming off a confidence-boosting win against the South Carolina Gamecocks, which was only their second conference win of the season, coming after a highly impressive victory against the then-ranked #15 Arkansas Razorbacks.
"Defensively, we've gotta be really good in this game. They have a lot of really good one-on-one players. Offensively, you know, we gotta do a great job executing and sharing the ball. So, great opportunity against a team that's, you know, ahead of us in the standings," stated head coach Steven Pearl.
Ole Miss currently sits nine places ahead of Auburn in conference standings, with Ole Miss at number three and Auburn at number 12. Ole Miss has had an interesting season as well, losing out-of-conference games against NC State, St. John's, Miami, Utah, and Iowa. Auburn has beaten St. John's and NC State this season, but also lost to Missouri by ten, a team that Ole Miss beat by seven only ten days ahead of their matchup against Auburn.
Transfer forward Keyshawn Hall has been an excellent pickup for the Tigers, leading the team in points scored per game at 20.2, rebounds per game at 7.6, and minutes per game at 32.6. Star sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford has also been an anchor for Auburn, leading the team in assists per game at 3.2 while also following Hall in points per game at 13.7 and minutes per game at 30.3. The two of them, along with other key components such as Kevin Overton, KeShawn Murphy, and Elyjah Freeman, who are all averaging over ten points per game, have contributed to Auburn's No. 30 scoring offense in the nation. The Tigers have also averaged 94.3 points per game in conference.
The Rebels' offense has not been quite as explosive as Auburn's, with their two leading scorers in Malik Dia and AJ Storr averaging 14.2 and 13.3 points per game, respectively, although they have been heating up in recent weeks. In their most recent matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Rebels came away with a win by the skin of their teeth, with Storr and Ilias Kamardine both leading the team in scoring with seventeen apiece. Storr has been a consistent piece for the Rebels, having season bests in scoring in back-to-back games against Missouri and No. 21-ranked Georgia, with 26 points against Mizzou and 28 against Georgia. It will be difficult for Auburn to go into Ole Miss' home arena and knock them off their three-game conference win streak.
The Tigers will face off against the Rebels in Oxford, Mississippi at SJB Pavilion at 8:00 PM CST on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
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Braden is a freshman majoring in Aviation Management. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2025.
