Auburn – Ole Miss
The #23 Ole Miss Rebels welcomed the #1 Auburn Tigers to Oxford, Mississippi in a top 25 SEC matchup Saturday afternoon. Auburn controls the SEC at 7-0 in the conference while Ole Miss comes in at 5-3 in the conference with a recent win over the Texas Longhorns at home. Ole Miss has been a fun team to watch this season with loads of talent and a hard nosed style they get from their coach. Much the same, Auburn has possibly the best front court in the country, but almost certainly have the most dangerous backcourt in the NCAA with the four guards in the rotation shooting a combined 41% from three.
This game would come down to Ole Miss controlling the scoring of Auburn and maintaining an edge on the boards while not turning the ball over and getting high percentage shots on the number one team in the country. For Auburn it would come down to staying based in who they are and attacking the smaller Ole Miss squad while creating opportunities for each other to score. Both teams are well coached and would come into today looking to get a key win to position for the NCAA Tournament.
First Half
Both teams came out of the gates looking to put the other team on their heels. Auburn looked to push the tempo offensively while Ole Miss sought to stifle them on defensive. For Ole Miss, forwards Malik Dia and Jaemyn Brakefield were able to get to the bucket to keep the Rebels close but Auburn would be on the winning side of the exchange early as their back court went 4 of 6 from downtown early. When the Tiger’s did miss, forwards Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell controlled the glass which aided in giving Auburn a 23-18 lead with just under eight minutes to go.
Both teams picked up the pace offensively with Auburn being willed forward by Denver Jones who put up 13 points in the first halfon 4 of 5 shooting. Ole Miss did a fair job on defense forcing Auburn into eight first half turnovers but struggled to finish the plays in the open court. The Rebels went just 4-10 from the free-throw line but were aided by a 6 point burst on three pointers from Sean Pedulla and Matthew Murrell to bring Ole Miss within three of the number one team in the country 35-32.
Wooden Award frontrunner Johni Broome showed why he is considered one of the best players in the country as he ended the half with a square up three over Ole Miss’ Pedulla and a step back three over his defender with just two seconds left to put Auburn up 41-34 at halftime.
Second Half
Out of the halftime break, Padulla pushed Ole Miss to within one off of a stepback three on a one on one with his defender to bring the game to 44-43 Auburn. Auburn guards Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford would score eight points in just 55 seconds to put the deficit back at nine. Pedulla would press forward again hitting two difficult layups and then hitting Murrell on a cut to the basket to cap a 10 to 4 run to bring the hgame back within two, 56-44 with 11:24 left to play in the game.
The rest of the game would follow a similar pattern: Ole Miss would go on a run, get within two or three points, and Auburn would hit back lightning fast with six or eight points to relieve the pressure. Ole Miss did a great job defending Broome who would struggle through much of the second half scoring, but who showed his true skill in providing for his teammates on the wings where they hit 14 threes on 50% shooting from behind the arc. Broome did score seven of his team high twenty points in the last one and a half minutes of gameplay when the Rebels went full court press.
Pedulla would finish the game with a game high 29 points that would just not be enough for the Rebels who were out rebounded by 11 and missed 11 free-throws. Auburn would close the game out at the free-throw line with Pettiford, Broome, Caldwell, and Kelly all going 2 for 2 in the bonus to finish Ole Miss at home 92-82. All Auburn’s starters would finish in double figures with Broome and Caldwell finishing with double doubles with 12 and 13 rebounds respectively.
Conclusions and Looking Forward
Auburn is a dangerous team. They are a team that continues to get better as they get more time together on the court in the SEC gauntlet. Props to Ole Miss and especially to Sean Pedulla for a valiant effort against this juggernaut in front of over 9,000 fans. Johni Broome did not appear in the form as he has earlier in the season, but still ended up with 20 and 13. Every time that Ole Miss would make a push, the Tigers would immediately crush their hope by just showing a bit of the firepower their guards can bring to bear. Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones have become an unlimited lifeline for this top ranked Tiger team.
Going forward, Ole Miss will remain at home where they will welcome #8 Kentucky on Tuesday February 4th. From one test to another, Coach beard will have to build on some of the positives and learn from the negatives of this game to tune his team for dangerous Wildcat team which will be available on ESPN at 6:00 p.m. CST. Auburn will get to return home to take on a struggling Oklahoma team on Tuesday the 4th. Auburn must not overlook OU as they have a backcourt that can put you in trouble quickly if they get confident. That contest will be available on the SEC Network at 8:00 p.m. CST
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