AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn (9-4) begins SEC play Thursday night with a matchup against No. 25 Ole Miss (9-3) inside Neville Arena. The Tigers finished their non-conference slate with a loss, but hope to start 2025 with a big SEC win.
Auburn enters SEC play with an injury-plagued team. The Tigers have played short-handed most of the year and will likely enter Thursday’s game down a key player or two.
“Hopefully we can a couple players back,” Auburn head coach Johnnie Harris said after Sunday’s loss. “But if not, we’ll have to go watch film and try to put them in a better position to win.”
Three Tigers missed Sunday’s loss to Norfolk State: Taylen Collins, Taliah Scott, and Kaitlyn Dubon. All three made a big impact in the games they played this season. In three games played, Scott averaged over 20 points. In eleven games played, Collins averaged nearly ten points and nearly seven rebounds per game.
Auburn’s team will improve greatly if those players return, but if not, the Tigers will have to find another way to win. It starts with star forward DeYona Gaston. In Auburn's loss against Norfolk State, Gaston recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Auburn will need similar production to beat Ole Miss.
Ole Miss brings in a team with the country's top-scoring defense. The Rebels hold opponents to 47 points per game. The Rebels have held their opponents to under 50 points in eight of the nine wins this season.
Not only do the Rebels bring in a stout defense, they also have an offense averaging nearly 80 points per game with four players averaging double-digits. Ole Miss also has a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for tenth in the country.
All in all, Ole Miss is a very good team. The three losses for the Rebels came to three different top-25 teams. Auburn will have to be at its best to win the SEC opener.
Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM Thursday inside Neville Arena. The game will air on the Auburn Sports Network and the SEC Network+.
