Ole Miss Rebels Suffer First Home Loss of Season to Auburn Tigers

The Ole Miss Rebels put forth a valiant effort, but they suffered their first loss at home this season to the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team suffered its fourth loss of the 2023-24 season on Saturday night, as the No. 16 Auburn Tigers bested Chris Beard's squad 91-77 in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. This is the first time Ole Miss has lost at home under Beard.

Ole Miss entered the locker room at halftime with a 44-35 lead over Auburn after starting the game off strong with a nine-point advantage over the Tigers. Senior guard Matthew Murrell led Ole Miss with 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play. The second half of hoops is where this game really picked up, however.

The Tigers tied the game at 50 points with 15 minutes remaining in the game, and it was a back-and-forth battle until Auburn took the lead at the 11 minute mark, putting increased pressure on the Rebels. 

Ole Miss Athletics

It was downhill from there for Ole Miss, as the Tigers took a 75-69 lead over the Rebels with five and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Ole Miss was led in scoring by Allen Flanigan with 20 points, and he was joined in double digits by Murrell (18), Moussa Cisse (12), and Jaemyn Brakefield (15). 

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As a team, Ole Miss shot 45 percent from the field and 42 from three compared to percentages of 55 and 44 from Auburn, respectively.

The Rebels will now lick their wounds and prepare to travel to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday night. This will be another road test for Ole Miss, as South Carolina owns an impressive 19-3 (7-2 SEC) record entering its matchup versus the Rebels. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.