Auburn, AL – The Ole Miss Rebels, losers of five out of their last eight coming into the game, defeated the Auburn Tigers on the road 60-55. Ole Miss, a team squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, added another important road win. Auburn now finds itself on the brink of missing the Tournament. Ole Miss slowed the pace offensively, making shots at the end of the shot clock consistently throughout both halves. The Tigers offense was affected by the slow pace of the Rebels, with a game played at 62 possessions each, a season low for Auburn.
Ole Miss was led by 6-2 junior guard Breein Tyree with 20 points. Tyree did much of his scoring on catch and shoot three pointers, making all four of his three-point attempts on catch and shoots. He struggled shooting off the dribble, missing both of these three-point attempts. He also drove past his man on several occasions, scoring a layup at the rim, a pull-up midrange jumper over multiple defenders, as well as several drive and kicks to setup shots for teammates. Tyree also added four rebounds, two assists and three steals. He did struggle with the ball at times, with four turnovers and several other instances of poor ball handling that did not result in a turnover.
Sophomore guard Devontae Shuler added 17 points, scoring 12 in the first half. Shuler has success off the dribble, making all three of his shots off the dribble. Two of these shots were heavily contested and made from NBA distance. Shuler added four assists and two steals. Guard Terrence Davis was in early foul trouble, playing only 13 minutes and finishing with eight points.
Auburn was led by 6-8 sophomore forward Chuma Okeke. Okeke finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. He had success on drives from the corner and the wing, as well as several post up scores, getting fouled on multiple makes. He was 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He went 2-of-3 from distance on catch and shoot three-pointers. He did have ball control issues with three turnovers. Auburn’s starting guard duo of Jared Harper (1-of-5) and Bryce Brown (1-of-7) was held to a combined 2-of-12 from behind the arc, scoring 10 and eight points respectively. The length of the Ole Miss 1-3-1 zone and the defenders extending far behind the three-point line caused both shooting and turnover issues for Auburn throughout the game. Harper finished with six of Auburn’s 14 turnovers, and only had two assists. Brown went 3-of-3 from the charity stripe and Harper went 7-of-7.
The Rebels (17-7, 7-4) travel home to face Missouri on Saturday. Auburn (16-8, 5-6) will travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt in what may be a must win game.
This article was written by Lee Busby, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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