Auburn basketball opponent preview: Ole Miss Rebels/Landsharks/Black Bears/Katy Perry’s

I’m sure everyone spent their Monday evenings NOT watching football since there was definitely NOT a football game to watch. And Auburn basketball is gonna distract everyone from the football game that WASN’T played last night.

The Tigers will head to Oxford to face off against the (pick a mascot) of Ole Miss. Coming off of a big win against Arkansas, Auburn is gonna need to keep up the good play to put themselves back in the conference title conversation. Let’s look at Ole Miss.

All of the stats from here on come from Ole Miss’s Sports Reference page.

All schematic notes come from this highlight video against Tennessee.

Ole Miss on Offense

This isn’t exactly a good offensive team. Just 43% from the field and 29% from three, with a free throw percentage under 70. That’s not good. This team only scores 67 points a night. This is a game where Auburn’s defense can REALLY have some fun. The Rebs move the ball okay, but it isn’t often they make much of it. A lot of open shots clank off iron.

Ole Miss does typically execute well in the half court. Fortunately, Auburn basketball specializes in choking half court sets. That’s been a signature of Bruce Pearl at Auburn.

While Ole Miss’s motion offense isn’t very efficient in terms of scoring, they force you to move on defense. Lots of off ball cutting after passes make defenders run more than they’d like.

Ole Miss on Defense

This is Ole Miss’s calling card. The Rebels slow the game down and play defense. They allow just 41% shooting and give up just 64 points per game. For an Auburn team that has been, at best, inconsistent on offense, this is a dangerous thing.

Ole Miss will typically play some version of a shifting zone, whether that be 3-2, 2-3, 1-3-1 (head coach Kermit Davis’s preference), or 1-2-2. It usually depends on where their opponents’ offensive strength lies. Better perimeter shooting teams will typically see 3-2, better post teams will typically see 2-3, and inside out teams will typically see 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 to plug up the middle of the court.

Matchups to Watch for Auburn basketball

This one is for the wings. Allen Flanigan and Chris Moore are going to need to be big pieces if Auburn expects to win. We don’t need 50 combined points, but forcing the zone defense to defend all portions of the half court will be crucial.

Another key aspect will be Johni Broome’s passing out of the post when Ole Miss throws a 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2 at him. In recent games, teams have doubled Broome in the hopes they can force an errant pass. That’ll need to get cleaned up tonight.

As always, War Eagle. Let’s get a dub.