Ole Miss hoops seeking first ever win over No. 1 this weekend as red-hot Auburn comes to town

If one were to ask Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard about the significance of this weekend’s home matchup against No. 1 Auburn, he’d say that it’s the biggest game of the year simply because it’s the next game on the schedule.

That said, the Rebels (16-5, 5-3 SEC) have a chance to make history for the second time this season if they are to pull off the upset. Earlier this month, Ole Miss earned the program’s first ever road win over an AP Top 5 opponent. However, Ole Miss is still 0-for-16 all time against the top-ranked team in the country. On Saturday, the Rebels will get another shot at it as the red-hot Tigers (19-1, 7-0 SEC) come to town.

Tipoff on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. CT inside the SJB Pavilion and can be seen on ESPN or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network (Sirius XM 84).

This matchup has been declared a sellout since December of 2024.

“It’s a great opportunity to play against the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Night in and night out, you look at the rankings and there’s 10 ranked teams from the SEC in the Top 25,” Ole Miss assistant coach Brian Burg said on Thursday’s RebTalk. “… They’re really talented. Johni Broome is probably right now player of the year across the country. It’s not just him, it’s an entire team around him. We’re excited to have that ability to compete against them… You look at their team, they’re dynamic from the guard play and Johni Broome being inside. We’re going to have to execute our game plan to a tee and be able to rebound and to have the play style we like to play in. It’s important to execute on Saturday.”

There’s a number of good reasons why Auburn is the unanimous top-ranked team in the country. Out of the 20 games they’ve played, 13 of them were against Quad 1 teams, boasting an incredible 12-1 record against them. They’ve won 12 consecutive games since suffering their one loss at No. 9 Duke.

Preseason SEC Player of the Year and All-American candidate Johni Broome missed two games recently with a left-ankle sprain, but the Tigers have continued to win without him. Broome currently averages 18.2 points per game (second in the SEC) and a conference-best 11.2 rebounds per game. He 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.

It’s not just him though, as the Tigers had five players averaging double-figure points per game. 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. Like Ole Miss, they take care of the basketball by committing just 9.4 turnovers per game.

While Auburn is the unanimous No. 1 overall projected seed in the NCAA Tournament, Ole Miss finds itself projected as high as a No. 5 seed in the South Region, in the exact same region as Auburn. Ole Miss is No. 22 in the NCAA NET at the time of writing with a 4-5 record against Quad 1 opponents.

Ole Miss has been on a bit of a roller coaster since the beginning of SEC play, starting 4-0 for the first time since 2013, dropping three straight with two decided by a single possession, before getting back in the win column with a 72-69 win over Texas.

“We always talk about it being an 18-round fight and we just finished the eighth round. Glad to get back on the winning side. I thought it was a real competitive game. Texas is really talented, but our guys really executed especially late,” Burg said on Thursday.

The Rebels rank fourth in the country by committing just 9.3 turnovers per game with a turnover margin of +6.6, which is third-best in the NCAA. They also force 15.9 per game, the 13th most in the nation.

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TEAMS BREAKDOWN:

Ole Miss:

– 77.5 points for, 66.5 points against

– .445 field goal percentage

– 34.2 rebounds per game

– 15.5 assists per game

– 4.6 blocks per game

– 9.9 steals per game

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Auburn:

– 84.2 points for, 65.8 points against

– .486 field goal percentage

– 38.7 rebounds per game

– 17.0 assists per game

– 7.0 blocks per game

– 7.5 steals per game

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PROJECTED STARTING 5:

Ole Miss –

F – #0 Malik Dia (9.7 PPG. 6.0 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.6 SPG)

G – #3 Sean Pedulla (14.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.2 SPG)

G – #5 Jaylen Murray (11.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.5 SPG)

G – #11 Matthew Murrell (10.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.2 SPG)

F – #14 Dre Davis (9.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.2 SPG)

Head Coach – Chris Beard (2nd season, 36-17)

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Auburn –

G – #2 Denver Jones (10.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.8 SPG)

C – #4 Johni Broome (18.2 PPG. 11.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.5 BPG)

F – #10 Chad Baker-Mazara (12.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG)

G – #13 Myles Kelly (10.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.9 SPG)

C- #44 Dylan Cardwell (5.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.5 BPG)

Head Coach – Bruce Pearl (11th season, 219-120)

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LAST 5 GAMES

Ole Miss: 2-3

1/14 @ Alabama – W 74-64

1/18 @ Mississippi State – L 84-81 (OT)

1/22 vs. Texas A&M – L 63-62

1/25 @ Missouri – L 83-75

1/29 vs. Texas – W 72-69

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Auburn: 5-0

1/11 @ South Carolina – W 66-63

1/14 vs. Mississippi State – W 88-66

1/18 @ Georgia – W 70-68

1/25 vs. Tennessee – W 53-51

1/29 @ LSU – W 87-74

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SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS:

Auburn 7-0 SEC, 19-1 overall

Alabama 7-1 SEC, 18-3 overall

Florida 5-2 SEC, 18-2 overall

Missouri 5-2 SEC, 16-4 overall

Ole Miss 5-3 SEC, 16-5 overall

Texas A&M 5-3 SEC, 16-5 overall

Vanderbilt 4-3 SEC, 16-4 overall

Kentucky 4-3 SEC, 15-5 overall

Tennessee 4-4 SEC, 17-4 overall

Mississippi State 4-4 SEC, 17-4 overall

Georgia 3-5 SEC, 15-6 overall

Texas 3-5 SEC, 14-7 overall

Oklahoma 2-5 SEC, 15-5 overall

Arkansas 1-6 SEC, 12-8 overall

LSU 1-6 SEC, 12-8 overall

South Carolina 0-8 SEC, 10-11 overall