Tigers look to crack Davis’ zone
Playing Ole Miss during the Kermit Davis era hasn’t been a field of dreams for Auburn.
Since Davis arrived in Oxford in 2019, the series is tied at four wins apiece with the teams trading off sweeps.
“You’d love to have about a month to prepare for Kermit Davis, instead of a day and a half,” said Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl. “It’s just a hard prep because they’re so versatile. They do so many different things offensively that are well-thought-out.”
So what makes a Davis-led team difficult to play against? For starters, his defense is about as unique as it gets in college basketball.
Davis is known for his 1-3-1 zone that can morph into a 2-3. Here’s an example of that:
Davis' base zone is a 1-3-1, but when the ball is swung to the corner the defense will switch into a 2-3.
The Rebels run zone on just over 12 percent of their defensive possessions, but the Rebels run their defense more so based on their matchup.
Against Mississippi State, a poor shooting team, the Rebels ran zone on 39 percent of their defensive possessions. Against Alabama, a good shooting team, the Rebels had zero zone possessions.
“They're multiple, defensively,” Pearl said “They'll run the 1-3-1, they'll run a 2-3, and they've done different things. Sometimes they'll really extend it, especially at home, and try to turn you over.”
Offensively, it's been a struggle this season for the 8-7 Rebels as they sport the 128th-ranked offense in the country according to Kenpom. Their downfall has been their porous shooting behind the arc as they are shooting 29% from downtown which ranks 336th in the country.
Matthew Murrell leads Ole Miss in scoring at 14.7 points per game but is shooting a subpar 46 percent true shooting.
That doesn’t mean Auburn is taking him lightly. They know what he’s capable of.
“Murrell is one of the best guards in the league and super athletic and a great shooter,” Pearl said.
Ole Miss’ next two leading scorers - Daeshun Ruffin and Jaemyn Brakefield - are both guys that Auburn recruited and players that Pearl is familiar with.
“We had Daeshun committed for about a day… what a dynamic player,” Pearl said. “Brakefield is a stretch-four man that you got to contend with.
Overall, the Rebels are sitting at 8-7 and are 0-3 in conference play, but they have a win over Florida Atlantic and took No. 5 Tennessee to the wire in Oxford.
“Ole Miss has had probably the toughest starting schedule in the league,” Pearl said. “You can’t judge them necessarily by their start.”
Auburn and Ole Miss tip of 8 p.m. CT. The game airs on ESPNU.