After falling out of the Associated Press Top 25, Ole Miss is hoping its recent history repeats itself Wednesday night when it treks eastward for a border state battle with No. 1 Auburn.
It will not be the first time this season that the Rebels (19-8, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) have ventured to the state of Alabama and tried to stake a claim to a statement win against one of the nation’s elite programs.
On Jan. 14, the Rebels authored the conference’s first major stunner when they went to Tuscaloosa and dumped No. 4 Alabama 74-64. That improved coach Chris Beard’s bunch to 15-2 overall and a clean 4-0 in conference action.
However, a mediocre 4-6 stretch since has dulled some of the program’s sheen.
Following the stemming of the Crimson Tide, Ole Miss dropped four of five contests — all against ranked teams. That included a 92-82 home loss on Feb. 1 to Auburn (25-2, 13-1).
Being swept at home by rival Mississippi State and falling to Vanderbilt in Nashville dampened spirits further after the hot start, though the program is headed to March Madness for the first time since 2019.
“I think we can play with teams like this right now,” Beard said after the 10-point loss to Auburn three weeks ago. “I know we can. We’ll just keep working toward where we can beat teams like this in March.”
After hosting Oklahoma Saturday, Ole Miss concludes the regular season against No. 5 Tennessee and No. 3 Florida — two more chances to improve its stock before the NCAA announces the tourney’s field.
Malik Dia (10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds) has been the leading scorer and rebounder in two of the past three games for Ole Miss.
Coach Bruce Pearl’s top-ranked Tigers have rebounded nicely since Florida thrashed them 90-81 on Feb. 8.
That defeat clipped Auburn’s 14-game winning streak, but the squad has regrouped to win its past four outings — including a 94-85 victory over nemesis Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers’ final three games after Wednesday are at No. 17 Kentucky and No. 12 Texas A&M before closing the regular season on March 8 at home versus the No. 6 Crimson Tide.
Pearl said holding the top spot in the Top 25 poll while playing in undeniably the nation’s most competitive conference is a position his team is perfectly comfortable handling.
“We’re clearly getting everyone’s best shot,” Pearl said. “We are. That’s great because to the victor go the spoils. A victory over Auburn, with our math, could really get somebody off the bubble and into the tournament. … We’re going to get that again Wednesday night against Ole Miss, even though Ole Miss is already in.
“Our guys are used to it. I think the other thing, too, it’s a combination of having a bunch of older guys. They’re starting to see the end of this thing in the regular season. And they don’t want to waste opportunities.”
Ranking sixth in the nation with 84.3 points per game, Auburn relies on Johni Broome (18.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game). Broome is the heavy favorite for SEC Player of the Year and locked in a race with Duke freshman Cooper Flagg for National Player of the Year.
