AUBURN – After an undefeated week with wins over Arkansas and Georgia at Neville Arena, No. 1 Auburn – the unanimous pick in this week's AP Top 25 Poll – will close a three-game homestand against Ole Miss on Wednesday night.
Auburn is aiming to clinch a share, or outright possession, of the SEC regular-season title. With four games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Tigers can secure at least a share by going 2-0 or 1-1 if Alabama and Florida both lose a game this week. Auburn can also clinch the title outright with two wins this week and an Alabama loss to Tennessee on Saturday.
But first, it must get past a Rebels squad looking to snap a two-game skid.
“Making history matters to us. So, with four games to go in the regular season, we recognize the position that we put ourselves in. We also recognize that the next four games are going to be challenging,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "So just like we’ve been doing all season long, we’ll take them one game at a time.”
The Rebels are one of three teams the Tigers will play home-and-home with this season. In the teams' last meeting, Auburn marched out of The Pavillion with a 10-point win, in which the Tigers connected on 14 3-pointers to score 92 points.
In that matchup, Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla led all scorers with a season-high 29 points. Pedulla remains as the Rebels’ leading scorer at 14.8 points per game with a team-high 3.8 assists and two steals per game. His 53 steals on the season are good for the top 50 in the country and paces a squad that averages 14.7 turnovers per game, 29th in the nation.
“Pedulla got eight or nine free throws in that game and that’s way more than he normally gets. So we’ve got to defend him without fouling. He drove by us with either hand and just did a great job. Made some tough shots…he was terrific,” Pearl said of Pedulla in the team’s last meeting.
He is joined in double figures by five other Rebels who all average over 20 minutes per game. Matthew Murrell (11), Jaylen Murray (10.9), Jaemyn Brakefield (10.8), Dre Davis (10.4) and Malik Dia (10.3).
Led by Pedulla's efforts, the Rebels are a feisty defensive squad. They also take care of the basketball offensively, as they have dominated the turnover battle this year, ranking third in the nation with a turnover margin of +5.9. They lead all of college basketball with 8.9 turnovers per game, and their 14.7 turnovers forced per game give them the lead in the SEC in all three turnover metrics.
“We turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes at Ole Miss and that was a real problem for us. They’re very athletic. They extend. They switch randomly, and they’re hard to get a pattern on. If you force too much, they’re very active with their high hands and getting deflections,” Pearl said of the Rebels’ defense.
However, Auburn is sixth in the country with just 9.1 turnovers per game.
“I think part of our low turnover number is just the fact that our guys know what they’re good at and they know what a quality shot is and what isn't,” Pearl said.
With tipoff set for 6 p.m. on ESPN2, the Tigers will go for the season sweep of Ole Miss and look for their 15th Quad I win of the season as the Rebels look to improve their NCAA Tournament resume and stay undefeated in the state of Alabama this season.
“Ole Miss has played well on the road and there’s a tremendous amount on the line for both clubs,” Pearl said.
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