Takeaways from Auburn’s 80-71 win over Ole Miss
Word of the day: resiliency. “The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”
That is Auburn basketball.
On Saturday night, the Tigers picked up a nine-point win against an Ole Miss team that did everything they could to try and come away with a victory. Unfortunately, the shots that the Rebels were knocking down at a blistering pace in the first half did not fall in the second.
Auburn (16-1, 5-0 SEC) finished the game shooting an even 50% from the floor themselves, led by big man Walker Kessler, who finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks.
Could we see Bruce Pearl & Co. ranked No. 1 in next week’s AP Poll? We’ll have to wait and see.
Here are five takeaways from No. 4 Auburn’s 80-71 win over the Ole Miss Rebels.
You can't play a more perfect first half if you're Ole Miss
AP Photo/Bruce Newman
No fouls until there were 19.2 seconds left. Two turnovers. Shooting over 50% from the floor. Absolutely nothing went Auburn’s way until KD Johnson got a couple of steals at the very end. This is the second “perfect” first half we’ve seen from an Auburn opponent this season (UConn had the first). The Tigers proved they could still battle back.
Officiating continues to be a problem
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Ole Miss didn’t receive a foul until the waning seconds of the first half, and Auburn did not find themselves in the bonus until there were two minutes and change left in the game.
For a team that averages 14.9 fouls per game, Ole Miss played extremely physical to only finish with 10.
Auburn might have a problem at the small forward position
AP Photo/Bruce Newman
Allen Flanigan and Devan Cambridge were a combined 3-of-10 from the floor with a +3 plus-minus. The minutes provided from the position were not good. In fact, there were crucial misses and mistakes from both players down the stretch that killed momentum for the Tigers. Improvement needs to be made.
Auburn struggled to get rebounds
AP Photo/Bruce Newman
Auburn only grabbed 27 rebounds, which tied their low on the season (27 at St. Louis). At the same time, Ole Miss had a lot of lucky bounces off the rim (10 offensive rebounds for the Rebels), which I do not blame on Auburn.
Walker Kessler is incredibly valuable to this team
AP Photo/Bruce Newman
As I mentioned earlier, Kessler finished with his sixth double-double of the year. If Kessler stays out of foul trouble, Auburn has a very good chance to win because of his ability to protect the rim and shut down opposing offenses. The Tigers held Ole Miss to 27 points in the second half and Kessler was a big reason why.
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