GAME PREVIEW AND OPEN THREAD: #21 Auburn @ Ole Miss

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Game 16: Back on the road again with renewed vigor!

GAME 16: Tuesday, January 10th, 2023

Auburn Tigers @ Ole Miss Rebels

The Pavilion - Oxford, MS

Time: 8:00 pm CST/9:00 pm EST

Network: ESPNU, Auburn Radio Network

Betting Odds: Auburn -1.5, Over/Under 133.0 via Draft Kings Sportsbook

(Odds/lines subject to change. Visit DraftKings for more information.)

Quite honestly, Neville magic is fantastic and I personally didn’t think that even our home atmosphere and the extra boost we get from playing in front of the Jungle could serve as a bounceback from what we saw in Athens.

Auburn led the entire game against #13 Arkansas, and frankly dominated the contest as the Hogs faltered from three and the foul line and couldn’t handle a career game from Arkansas native Allen Flanigan. Wendell Green’s 19 points also led the way and he was cooking like we always know he can. Auburn’s defense held the Hogs to just 2-16 from three, and 19-32 from the foul line (VAUNTED FREE THROW DEFENSE). Now, in two home games, the defense has allowed just 58 and 59 points in victories, and we all feel so much better than we did after the loss to Georgia. Mike White just sort of has our number, I suppose.

Someone else who has our number is Kermit Davis. That guy has made things difficult for Auburn over the past few seasons. Last season when we went into Oxford, the Rebels were hot to start and led 44-38 at halftime before Auburn stormed back in a 42-27 second half. Walker Kessler came close to a triple-double with a 20/10/7 performance, overcoming a poor perimeter shooting night from Jabari Smith.

Auburn dominated the return trip on the Plains, and swept the Rebs in 2022, but Ole Miss took both 2021 meetings, and Auburn swept in 2020 before the pandemic. This Rebel team might not make the biggest waves, but with Auburn’s offense not as great as it’s been over recent years, Kermit’s always a threat to do something rude.

THE OPPONENT

Ole Miss is essentially a worse version of Auburn in 2023. They’re 8-7 overall, 0-3 in the SEC. Now, let’s give them some credit, they’ve played two of the best teams in the league to start their conference schedule. Tennessee and Bama both beat them, and so did MSU last time out. Overall, they’re on a 4-game losing streak that includes a loss to North Alabama in their final non-con game of the season.

You’re going to remember a few of these annoying Rebel players. Matthew Murrell is back, playing 33 minutes per game and leading the Rebs in points at 14.7 ppg. Jaemyn Brakefield and Daeshun Ruffin both post 9.0 points per game and return from last year, although Ruffin has been playing off the bench recently.

Overall, the Rebels aren’t great at any one thing, and only above average at a couple of different facets of the game.

Per Game Team and Opponent Stats Table

	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Team	15	40.1	25.0	58.3	.429	19.5	39.3	.496	5.5	19.1	.290	12.1	17.8	.682	13.0	25.1	38.1	12.2	7.7	4.9	13.5	16.3	67.7
Rank			237th	177th	264th	107th	85th	236th	332nd	296th	341st	217th	181st	275th	26th	188th	70th	269th	94th	32nd	132nd	217th	293rd
Opponent	15	40.1	23.7	57.7	.410	17.5	39.7	.441	6.1	18.0	.341	11.4	16.2	.704	11.3	22.8	34.1	13.3	7.8	3.1	13.1	16.3	64.9
Rank			117th	188th	78th	177th	319th	30th	70th	29th	231st	117th	124th	184th	304th	63rd	184th	93rd	322nd	190th	162nd	126th	70th

Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 1/10/2023.

You can see, top 100 in 2-point FG %, total rebounds, steals, and blocks. Like we said, they’re a similar team to Auburn, but worse at basically everything that we are.

PREDICTION

Both of these teams are hesitant to score, and I can’t see the Tigers making a big splash on the road offensively. However, I can see the defense taking advantage of a team that’s on a losing streak and that hasn’t had much to raise their spirits. Ole Miss really doesn’t have anyone who can be deemed a true problem, even though they’ve always had someone who comes alive against the Tigers and hits a 25-point night. Maybe we’ll learn who that is this season.

However, I think we see another close, ugly game where both sides claw for points and this looks fairly similar to the Florida game. For some reason, this looks like a Johni Broome game after what Walker Kessler did last season, and he’ll be the difference maker as the rest of the team gets its footing and clamps down late.

Auburn 67, Ole Miss 60

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