It is a jam-packed Saturday of college basketball, with plenty of high-profile matchups as the regular season winds down. Tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET, the Auburn Tigers will host the Ole Miss Rebels.
This is the second meeting this season between these two SEC opponents. They last played on January 20th, when Auburn rolled to a 78–66 victory in Oxford.
Auburn enters as a 10.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Ole Miss sits as a +390 underdog. The game total is set at 15.5 points.
Ole Miss at Auburn preview
Ole Miss holds an 11–17 record and has gone just 3–12 in SEC play. They enter this matchup on a 10-game losing streak, which started in the first matchup with Auburn. The Rebels’ last win came on January 17th over Mississippi State. On the season, Ole Miss has gone 9–19 against the spread and cleared the game total in 18 of 28 games.
Chris Beard’s squad is scoring 75.1 points per game this season, ranking 204th out of 365 qualifying D1 teams. Ole Miss also ranks 198th in offensive rating, 268th in field goal percentage, and 251st in three-point percentage. Defensively, the Rebels rank 236th in opponent scoring, 173rd in opponent field-goal percentage, and 233rd in opponent perimeter accuracy.
AJ Storr headlines the production for Ole Miss, averaging 14.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and two assists per game. Malik Dia adds 14.1 and a team-high 6.1 rebounds. Ilias Kamardine is the lone other player averaging double figures, adding 11.3 points and a team-leading 3.9 assists per game. Patton Pinkins, James Scott, Eduardo Klafke, and Corey Chest also play key roles in the rotation.
The Auburn Tigers hold a 15–13 record on the season and are 6–9 in SEC play. They have dropped six of their last seven games and are coming off a 91–79 loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday. Auburn is 12–16 against the spread and has cleared the over in 16 of 28 games.
Steven Pearl’s squad is averaging 83.5 points per game, which ranks 35th in the country. The Tigers also rank 31st in offensive rating, 161st in team field-goal percentage, and 211th in three-point percentage. Defensively, they rank 326th in opponent scoring, 330th in defensive rating, 283rd in opponent field-goal percentage, and 348th in opponent three-point percentage.
Keyshawn Hall headlines the production for the Tigers, averaging 20.8 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc. After flirting with the NBA Draft, Tahaad Pettiford returned to Auburn — and he’s averaging 14.4 points and 3.6 assists. Kevin Overton and KeShawn Murphy also average in double figures, while Elyjah Freeman, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Filip Jovic and Kaden Magwood round out most of the notable rotation.
Ole Miss at Auburn pick, best bet
Neither of these teams has its desired outlook this season. However, the alarm bells are blaring much louder in Oxford, as Ole Miss’s season has gone completely off the rails.
Not only have the Rebels lost 10 straight, but they’re 3–7 against the spread during that span, with seven losses coming by double digits. The meltdown began when Auburn rolled to a 78–66 victory over Ole Miss, despite shooting just 12% from downtown. Auburn out-rebounded Ole Miss 43–26 while dominating the paint.
My lean for Saturday is that the rematch plays out the same way, with Auburn cruising to a spread-covering victory. However, I’m backing the contest to clear the 153.5-point total. The teams combined for 144 points in the first matchup, despite Auburn’s struggles from deep and Ole Miss shooting just 36% from the field.
Both teams have glaring defensive holes that either side can exploit. Auburn has given up 88 or more points in 10 of its 28 games played. Ole Miss doesn’t fare much better, and both teams are increasingly vulnerable to offensive rebounds. Expect some easy buckets down low.
Ole Miss has cleared the over in seven straight games, while Auburn has done so in two of its last three. The Rebels and Tigers have also hit the over in seven of their last 10 all-time meetings. After falling short of standards in the previous matchup, expect both sides to hemorrhage points on Saturday night.
