OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 1 Auburn Tigers will head to Oxford this Saturday to close out their road trip and take on the No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels. It will be the 10th top-25 team the Tigers have faced already this season.
Bruce Pearl’s Tigers remain the talk of the college basketball world. With 12 quad-one wins and a legitimate national player of the year candidate in Johni Broome, Auburn has put together one of the most impressive resumes the sport has ever seen. However, there is no rest in the SEC, especially for a number-one squad with a target on their backs.
Ole Miss is a team that enjoyed a hot start to the season, but a recent skid has left them with just one win in their last four contests. Last time out, a gritty win over the Texas Longhorns on home court gave the Rebels some much-needed momentum as they prepare to welcome the top-ranked Tigers to the SJB Pavilion.
The Rebels scoring threat is led by Virginia Tech transfer Sean Pedulla. The senior averages 14.5 points per contest and can light it up from beyond the arc. Auburn should be familiar with Pedulla, as they went head-to-head with him last season when he was a Hokie. The Tigers shut him down, forcing him to shoot 0-9 from the field. Coach Pearl will be hoping for a similar defensive effort to shut down Ole Miss’ top scorer Saturday afternoon.
Another player to track will be forward Malik Dia. Dia flew under the radar during non-conference play but has exploded out of the gates in league contests. The junior has scored in double figures in five of the Rebel’s eight SEC games and has scored over 20 in two of them. Those two came against Arkansas and Alabama, where he helped his team to two huge road victories. When Dia goes, so do the Rebels.
Oxford has not been an easy place to go and win this season, as Chris Beard’s Rebels are 10-1 in games inside the SJB Pavilion. A raucous Saturday afternoon crowd paired with a solid roster all the way down will present Auburn with yet another tough task.
“What has made it tough is that they’re good,” Pearl said in his midweek presser. “They’re good and they’re well coached. They have dudes.”
As league play approaches its midway point, the SEC has proved to be a gauntlet. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night. The Tigers so far have come out unscathed, but await an Ole Miss team who handed the No. 4 team in the nation, Alabama, their first loss. The conference feels wide open, and Pearl knows how hard it is to pick up these road wins.
“This one Saturday is probably another one in the category of: Ole Miss isn’t going to lose to hardly anybody at home,” Pearl said. “It’s an opportunity to be a separator.”
The top-25 showdown between the Tigers and the Rebels is set for tipoff Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. ESPN will carry the live broadcast, and the Auburn Sports Network will have the courtside call from The Pavilion.
