Auburn Basketball: Tigers Host Ole Miss in Key SEC Matchup

The Auburn basketball team pulled out its biggest victory of the season Thursday night 81-77 in Baton Rouge against LSU. Following the huge road SEC win, the Tigers aim pick up another big league victory at home against Ole Miss.

Auburn Tigers (11-11, 3-6) vs Ole Miss Rebels (15-7, 6-3)

Date: Saturday, February 5, 2015
Start Time: 5:30 PM Central
Location: Auburn, AL
Arena: Auburn Arena
TV Info: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Odds (VegasInsider.com): Ole Miss (-4.5)

The odds were long, but the Auburn Tigers needed to find a way to defeat LSU on the road to snap a four-game losing streak and get back to .500 overall.

With season-high scoring performances from K.T. Harrell and Antoine Mason in addition to Cinmeon Bowers’ 13th double-double of the season, Auburn was able to pick up their first road win of the season and defeated a very good LSU team 81-77.

Feb 5, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Cinmeon Bowers (5) shoots over LSU Tigers forward Jordan Mickey (25) during the first half of a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Mason sparked some of the biggest moments of the game.

“Antoine Mason had a dominating performance. He was tremendous in almost every aspect,” Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said afterwards. “He maintained his patience offensively and made the shots he got. As soon as you could tell he was warm we went to him and he delivered. He delivered with scoring, he delivered with passing, he delivered with rebounding, he delivered getting the last rebound in the free throw set, getting the 50/50 ball, getting the steal and doubling down. He just did it all.”

The win was great. In fact, it was the most important of the season to date. With the upset, the Tigers stopped the bleeding of a four-game skid that could have killed the season and instead gained the confidence that comes with beating a quality opponent on its own court.

But, just two days later, the Tigers have another task at hand: hosting the red-hot Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss comes into Auburn Arena riding a four-game winning streak and with a 6-3 record in SEC play. The Rebels lead the SEC in scoring (74.3 points per game) and lead the nation in free throw percentage (79.9%) and Jarvis Summers is the league’s active leader in career points, assists, minutes, and wins. Summers also leads the SEC in assists with 5.1 per game.

The Rebels have big wins over Arkansas, Florida and Texas A&M, and took No. 1 Kentucky to overtime at Rupp Arena in the SEC opener. Ole Miss is one of the most improved teams in the SEC, and is in the mix for an NCAA Tournament selection if they win the games they are supposed to win down the stretch.

That includes picking up a victory at Auburn Arena where the Tigers are 7-3 this season. Ole Miss is a 4.5-point favorite in the game.

However, Auburn matches up well. The Tigers give up a few inches in height in the post, but overcame a much bigger size disadvantage Thursday in Baton Rouge. Plus, The Jungle is one of the toughest venues in the SEC.

It’s a winnable game for the Auburn basketball team, and if the Tigers play as well as they did Thursday, it’s a game they should win.

Auburn

#5 Cinmeon Bowers, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 278 pounds, 13.6 PPG, 11.0 RPG
#25 Jordon Granger, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, 4.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG
#1 K.T. Harrell, G, Sr., 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, 17.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG
#13 Tahj Shamsid-Deen, G, So., 5-foot-9, 170-pounds, 5.8 PPG, 1.1 RPG
#14 Antoine Mason, G, Sr., 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, 1471 PPG, 2.8 RPG

Ole Miss

#32 Jarvis Summers, G, Sr., 6-foot-3, 186 pounds, 13.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG
#42 Stefan Moody, G, Jr., 5-foot-10, 179 pounds, 15.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG
#1 Martavious Newby, G, So., 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, 3.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG
#11 Sebastian Saiz, F, So., 6-foot-9, 233 pounds, 7.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG
#4 M.J. Rhett, C, Sr., 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, 6.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG

Next: Football: 2015 Auburn Recruiting Class Player Profiles

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