Offensive troubles kept Auburn from starting out SEC play with a win or even holding a lead in the game.
The Auburn Tigers (10-3, 0-1 SEC) lost to the Ole Miss Rebels (12-2, 1-0 SEC) in a 79-47 blowout at The Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi this evening.
“They got us on our heels,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said. “We couldn’t make a shot. Our shot just wasn’t falling tonight, and then we were on our heels defensively. We had a lot of undisciplined and unforced turnovers, trying to thread the needle. Just a lot of mistakes that you can’t make against a team like this.”
Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn in scoring with 13 points and was the only Tiger to score in double-digits. Auburn shot 15-60 from the field for only 25 percent and went 0-10 from three-point range. This was a season-low field goal percentage for the Tigers and the first time they did not make a single three-pointer this season.
“It was tough. Hopefully our freshmen and young players learn a lesson (from tonight),” Harris said. “We’re not going to make any excuses, but we’ve got to be tougher, we’ve got to be more physical. We’ll go back to the drawing board and work on it.”
Mar’Shaun Bostic led Auburn in assists with three and Kharyssa Richardson led in rebounds with eight.
Bench production has been a strength for Auburn all season, but tonight only 15 points came from non-starters. The Tigers also struggled to get the ball inside tonight, scoring only 20 points in the paint.
Auburn will be back in action on Sunday. The Tigers will have a chance to celebrate the new year by earning their first conference win over the Missouri Tigers at home in Neville Arena. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. CT.
