Ole Miss men’s basketball hosts No. 1 Auburn in Saturday Showdown

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) The No. 23 Ole Miss men’s basketball team hosts the top-ranked team in the nation next, as they welcome No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, February 1 at 1 p.m. in the SJB Pavilion, televised on ESPN.

TEAM FACTS
No. 23/23 Ole Miss Rebels (Record: 16-5, 5-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (36-17) • 273-115 career record (13th Season)

No. 1/1 Auburn Tigers (Record: 19-1, 7-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Bruce Pearl • 11th Season at Auburn (219-120) • 691-265 career record (30th Season)

ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN
Play-by-Play: Dave O’Brien
Color: Cory Alexander

OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Marc Dukes

SOLD OUT!
Tickets for Saturday’s game are sold out through the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office. Fans can check SeatGeek, the official secondary marketplace of the Rebels, for other options. Please download your mobile tickets prior to arriving at the stadium to ensure the swiftest entry.

ARRIVE EARLY!
With a large crowd anticipated, fans are encouraged to arrive early. Gates open at 11 a.m. for students and 11:30 for ticketed fans.

STRIPE THE PAVILION
Click here to check your color and help us Stripe the Pavilion in red and powder blue. Powder blue t-shirts will be available for the first 1,600 students.

SERIES HISTORY VS. AUBURN
This will be the 148th meeting between Ole Miss and Auburn in men’s basketball, with the two first meeting in 1928 when the Rebels won 43-42. While the Tigers own the all-time series lead 83-64, Ole Miss holds the advantage when playing in Oxford, 43-26. The Rebels are searching for their first victory over Auburn since they swept them in two games during the 2020-21 season, as the Tigers have taken the last six matchups.

LAST MEETING: February 3, 2024 (L, 77-91, Oxford, Miss.)
• Ole Miss led No. 16 Auburn as the half 44-35, outshooting them 51.5% to 38.2% over the first 20 minutes. The Tigers stormed back in the second half by shooting 73.3 percent from the floor (22-30), scoring 56 points in the final period to win by 14.
• Allen Flanigan (Ole Miss): 20 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal.
• Jaylin Williams (Auburn): 16 points, five rebounds, two assists.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The top-ranked team in the nation, Auburn brings an overall record of 19-1 and SEC record of 7-0 to Oxford this Saturday. Their lone win came at the hands of No. 9 Duke during the SEC/ACC Challenge, but they picked up massive wins during the non-conference stretch over No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina, Memphis, and No. 16 Purdue. Their seven victories over conference foes have come against Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, No. 15 Mississippi State, No. 23 Georgia, No. 6 Tennessee, and LSU. Auburn not only sits at the top of the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls, but the latest NET Rankings as well, a position they’ve held since December 10.

A preseason SEC Player of the Year candidate and preseason all-American candidate, Johni Broome has led Auburn all season and currently averages 18.2 points per game (second in the SEC) and a conference-best 11.2 rebounds per game. The fifth-year forward also ranks among the nation’s best in blocks per game at 2.8, best in the SEC and fifth in the NCAA, and double-doubles with 12, best in the SEC and fifth in the NCAA as well.

Five players average double digits in scoring, paced by Broome’s 18.2, Chad Baker-Mazara at 12.7, Tahaad Pettiford at 11.7, Miles Kelly with 10.4, and Denver Jones with 10.0.

Auburn leads the nation in blocks per game with an average of 7.0 per game, and ranks fourth in assist-turnover ratio at 1.82, and fourth in scoring margin at +18.4. The Tigers rank second in the SEC, behind Ole Miss, and sixth in the nation with an average of just 9.4 turnovers committed per game.

Currently in his 30th season as an NCAA head coach, Bruce Pearl has guided Auburn for 11 seasons. His 681 wins are the 12th-most among active coaches, with his win percentage of 72.0% ranking 15th among actives. Prior to earning the position at Auburn, Pearl was the head coach at Tennessee from 2005-2011, at Milwaukee from 2001-2005, and Southern Indiana from 1992-2001. He is an eight-time conference coach of the year, earning the honor in the SEC three times. He’s won three regular season SEC titles, two SEC Tournament titles, and has guided his team to the NCAA Tournament as a Division I head coach 13 times.

AP FLOUR, SUGAR, SALT, BUTTER, AND WATER
Ole Miss has dominated the turnover battle this year, ranking third in the nation with a turnover margin of +6.6 while ranking fourth in turnovers per game at 9.3. The Rebels are forcing an average of 15.9 turnovers per contest which ranks 13th in the NCAA. Ole Miss’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.68 also ranks among the nation’s best at seventh, led by Jaylen Murray with a season ratio of 2.79. They’ve been a force on the defensive end with an average of 9.9 steals per game (ninth in NCAA), paced by Sean Pedulla, who ranks 20th in steals nationally with 47.

LET’S PLAY DEFENSE
A staple of success for head coach Chris Beard has always been his team’s defensive play, and it’s been evident on this year’s Ole Miss roster to start the season. With a turnover margin of +6.6, the Rebels own the third-best average in all of college basketball, forcing 15.9 per game (No. 13 in the NCAA) while committing just 9.3 to rank fourth in the NCAA.

They have held opponents to 60 points or less in five games this season, allowing an average of just 66.3 per contest, the 47th-fewest in the NCAA. Their field goal percentage defense of 40.5 ranks 44th in the country this season, and Ole Miss holds a record of 15-2 in two years under Beard when holding the opposition to under 40 percent from the field. Their defensive efforts at the three-point line has led to an opponent shooting percentage of just 29.7 on the season, the 31st-lowest mark in the country.

Ole Miss ranks among the top teams in the nation in steals per game at 9.9, the ninth-best clip in college basketball, and blocks per game at 4.6 to rank 48th.

Across their eight SEC games, Ole Miss has held their opponents to just 39.6 percent from the field, the third-best defensive effort in the league. From three-point range, they lead the SEC defensively by holding their opponents to just 26.8 percent shooting. Their clip of 68.1 allowed points per game is also third-best in the SEC. They also lead all teams through conference action in turnover margin at +5.4, assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.46, and rank second in steals per game at 9.25.

“POLL” POSITION
In the latest top-25 polls released this past Monday, Ole Miss ranks No. 23 in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll. Ranked No. 15 in the Coaches Poll on December 9, it was the highest ranking in a national poll since the Rebels were No. 14 in the AP Poll on January 4, 2010, and the highest position in the Coaches Poll since they sat in 15th on January 21 in 2008. Their current run of nine weeks in the top 25 is the longest streak since the 2009-10 season.

BATTLE TESTED
The future schedule for Ole Miss is one of the most difficult in the nation. As of January 26, they own the nation’s third-toughest remaining strength of schedule according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. Their remaining opponent’s win percentage of 77.6 is the fourth highest in all of college basketball, and their cumulative strength-of-schedule win percentage of 68.6 is the fifth highest in the nation.

SPECIAL WEAPON OFF THE BENCH
A consistent starter over the past three seasons at Ole Miss, Jaemyn Brakefield has embraced a role off the bench this season and still been one of the best players on the court. With a season average of 10.8 points per game, Brakefield has averaged 13.6 during SEC play recently, and ranks second in the conference with 13 double-digit points when coming off the bench.

LUNARDI SAYS “DANCE”
Updated each Tuesday and Friday, the latest bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Ole Miss as a six seed in the Midwest Region. They are projected by Lunardi to face the winner of 11-seed Ohio State or North Carolina in Wichita, Kan., paired with three-seeded Kansas and 14th-seeded Northern Colorado. The highest seed for the Ole Miss program came in the 2001 tournament, when they were set as a three seed and reached the Sweet 16. Lunardi’s latest projections has 13 teams from the SEC earning a ticket to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, a number that would be the most for a single conference all time.

NETWORKING
The 2024-25 NET Rankings made their debut on Monday, December 2 and Ole Miss has since climbed their way to No. 21 in the nation. Since the ranking’s first iteration at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, their ranking of 13th on January 20 is the highest-ever NET Ranking for the Ole Miss program.

As of January 27, the entire SEC is ranked among the top 100, with 13 of the 16 programs sitting inside the top 50, eight in the top 25, and four in the top 10.