Still searching for its first true road win of the season, Auburn heads to Oxford on Tuesday night to face Ole Miss at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
Tuesday night’s affair begins a daunting stretch that will see Auburn play three of its next four away from Neville Arena. After Ole Miss, the Tigers head to Gainesville to face Florida on Saturday, followed by a home game at Texas on Jan. 28 and an away trip to Knoxville on Jan. 31 to face Tennessee.
"I'm always trying to figure out: Are there different things that we should be doing on the road as opposed to at home?" said Auburn head coach Steven Pearl.
The Tigers' three true road losses this season have come by 29 points to then-No. 23 Arizona, four points to No. 21 Georgia and 10 points to Missouri last week.
"In the Georgia game, we just didn't defend," Pearl said. "We executed really well offensively, we didn't defend. Missouri, I thought we defended, but we didn't execute offensively. So we've got to find a middle ground here — where we're defending and executing."
Auburn enters the matchup having won nine straight in the series, but will meet a Rebels squad on a three-game win streak after dropping their first two to begin SEC play.
Ole Miss forward Malik Dia paces the Rebels offensively, averaging 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Guards AJ Storr and Ilias Kamardine also average double figures, though Ole Miss ranks last in the SEC in scoring with just 76 points per game.
“Very talented roster,” Pearl said. “Three guys that are going to play professionally in Dia, Storr and Kamardine. Defensively, we've got to be really good in this game."
Fresh off a career night, Filip Jovic has emerged as both a consistent scoring threat and one of Auburn’s most energetic players. The 6-foot-8 forward turned in 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, six rebounds, two steals and a block in Auburn’s win over South Carolina.
In two games last week, Jovic was 13-of-16 from the floor, and in SEC play he has missed only four shots in five games (19-of-23, 82.6%).
"He's a dog, said Auburn point guard Tahaad Pettiford. “He gives us energy. He just wants to win... He's somebody I know I'm ready to go to war with every night."
As Auburn looks to avoid a 0-3 start in road SEC games, tipoff at the SJB Pavilion is set for 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
"It all starts with we've just got to be the most excited team to play," Pearl said. "If we do that, it cleans up a lot of the stuff – a lot of the silly mistakes that we may have made in those first two SEC road games."
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