Ole Miss Men’s Basketball defeated Auburn 85-79 in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 28, earning their first win since Jan. 17. Guards Patton Pinkins and AJ Storr scored 26 points each.
Pinkins shot 80% from the field, including 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. Overall, the Rebels shot 40% from beyond the arc.
The Rebels also kept the rebounding numbers close, which was a big point of emphasis for head coach Chris Beard after the loss to
No. 12 Florida on Feb. 21. In this game, they were outrebounded 32 to 27 — though still trailing, this was a much more mild deficit than they have faced in many games this season. For reference, against No. 25 Tennessee on Feb. 3, they were outrebounded 40 to 23.
Ole Miss led by only one at halftime, 38-37. They pulled ahead in the second half with excellent shooting. They passed the ball well, too — their 16 assists were twice as many as Auburn’s total.
“I think at times tonight we had really good ball movement. The ball wasn’t sticking much on our end,” Beard said in a postgame press conference.
With this loss, the Rebels advanced to 12-17 overall and 4-12 in SEC play. They moved out of the last place in the conference and are now ranked third to last, ahead of LSU and South Carolina.
“Obviously, a good win for us in a year filled with a lot of adversity. Not too many high points the last couple months. Proud of our guys,” Beard said. “Lot of respect for the Auburn program. To beat a team like this this time of year, I think speaks really highly of our players in a season where it would almost be understandable if guys kind of checked it in. We just haven’t done that.”
What’s next?
Ole Miss Men’s Basketball is back in action against Vanderbilt at home on Tuesday, March. 3 in The Sandy and John Black Pavilion. ESPN+ will broadcast the game.
