AUBURN | Ole Miss coach Chris Beard had a good plan for his team to come into Neville Arena Wednesday night and knock off No. 1 Auburn.
But even after the Rebels hit a lot of his milestones, they still lost 106-76.
“If you had told me before the game that we could get to 80-something points, we’re going to shoot close to 50 from the field, make some three’s right around mid-30’s, get to the free throw line more or equal to Auburn and take care of the ball relatively well, 10 or less turnovers, I wouldn’t have predicted we would win the game but I would have predicted we’d have a chance to win the game. But that wasn’t the story,” said Beard.
Auburn was just too good offensively, shooting .596 from the floor, the best in a conference game this season, and making 11 of 21 3-pointers and 27 of 33 free throws.
AU had 20 assists on 34 made field goals.
“We played so well offensively. Shot it so well, shared it so well. I just think that the pieces, there’s just some really special pieces,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl.
Five Auburn players scored in double figures led by Johni Broome’s 24 points on 7 of 12 shooting, and nine rebounds. Chad Baker-Mazara added 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting including 4 of 5 3-pointers.
“Defense was nonexistent. A lot of it had to do with Auburn,” said Beard. “Really difficult to guard. They come at you in waves with depth. So that was the tale of the game from our perspective.”
The win gives Auburn a sweep in the series, out-scoring Ole Miss 198-158 in two games. The Tigers improved to 26-2 overall and 14-1 in the SEC.
The Tigers are a win away from clinching the SEC regular season championship and also closing on securing the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Selection Sunday is just 18 days away.
“Veteran team, older team, returners. Coach has been doing this for a long time,” said Beard. “Just as good as advertised. A team that definitely, in my opinion, is one of a handful of teams that would kinda be a favorite to win six games in three weekends.”
Auburn plays at No. 17 Kentucky Saturday. Tip-off at Rupp Arena is scheduled for noon CT on ABC.
