The Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team couldn’t string enough shots together to pull off what would have been one of the biggest upsets of the year and fell to Auburn on the road 77-64.
The Rebels couldn’t take advantage of a rather mediocre game played by the Tigers. Auburn shot 46% from the floor and just 36% from three. However, Ole Miss made just 38% of their field goals and 32% of their shots beyond the arc.
The stat line tells the story of this game. The game was pretty much even in all major factors of the game except shooting. Both teams made 14 free throws and committed 12 turnovers. Auburn out-rebounded the Rebels by just two, and both teams each had 15 points off turnovers and points in the paint.
Ole Miss took an early 11-9 lead, but Auburn quickly responded with an 8-0 run to put themselves up by seven. The Rebels hung around with the Tigers for most of the first half, keeping themselves within 7-10 points, but a final burst by Auburn stretched the lead to 12 at halftime.
Ole Miss appeared as though they were going to give the Tigers a run for the money as they opened up the second half with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to three. The Rebels had a couple of opportunities to increase the run but turned the ball over and missed easy shots when Auburn looked as bad as they did all night. In response, the Tigers went on a 13-3 run to stretch their lead back out to 10.
Ole Miss stayed within reach and had multiple opportunities to cut the lead to five or six, but just couldn’t make the shot to get them over the hump. Auburn extended its lead to 14 late in the game and never looked back.
Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Zep Jasper led the game in points with their 15-point outings. Jarkel Joiner led the way for the Rebels with 13 points despite shooting just 4-14 from the field.
Ole Miss caught another catastrophic break as Mathew Murrell went down with two minutes left in the first half after an apparent elbow to the face. He did not return to the game, and it is unknown if he will miss time or not. Murrell is a guy that Ole Miss can’t afford to lose if it wishes to make a magical run in the SEC tournament.
Ole Miss will return home on Saturday, Feb. 26 to face the Texas A&M Aggies. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CST.
