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Auburn and Ole Miss met in a top-25 affair on Saturday with the Rebels looking to thwart a big winning streak for the No. 1 team in the country. While it was a back-and-forth matchup all game long, Auburn led by 7 points at halftime and was able to provide every answer in a 92-82 win.
The victory moves Bruce Pearl’s Auburn team to 8-0 in the SEC and maintains a 1-game lead over Alabama in the SEC standings. It is also the 13th straight victory for the Tigers, adding to the 2nd-longest winning streak in DI so far this season.
The key stat in this one proved to be 3-point shooting. While Ole Miss did not shoot it horribly from beyond the arc at 32% (6-for-19), Auburn was especially hot with a 14-for-28 (50%) effort from deep.
Denver Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara led the 3-point barrage for the Tigers with 4 made 3-pointers each, including 4-for-6 from Baker-Mazara. Johni Broome even got into the action from long range by hitting both of his 3-point attempts.
Speaking of Broome, it was his 3rd game back since his ankle injury, and it was his most efficient since returning. He finished the game shooting 50% from the floor (his first game at 50%+ since early January) to go with a team-high 20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.
Ole Miss was led by Sean Pedulla with a game-high 29 points in the defeat while Matthew Murrell chipped in 17 points. The Rebels had more points in the paint (34-to-28) and points off the bench (19-to-13) but every starter for Auburn reached double figures in the game. The Tigers also saw 4 of their 5 starters make 2+ 3-pointers in the win.
With the win, Auburn will maintain its No. 1 spot in the country for at least another week. The Tigers are rolling and will get a midweek home game vs. Oklahoma next before a massive home showdown next Saturday vs. No. 5 Florida. Stay tuned to the best betting apps to track Auburn’s SEC and national title odds down the stretch.
As for Ole Miss, the Rebels are looking to catch their breath a bit after going 2-4 in their last 6 games, including 5 matchups against ranked opponents. Unfortunately, they will get No. 12 Kentucky in a midweek matchup in what has been a brutally tough stretch for Chris Beard’s group.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.