The Ole Miss Rebels men’s basketball team lost for the fourth time in their 2023–24 campaign on Saturday night at Sandy and John Black Pavilion to the No. 16 Auburn Tigers. Chris Beard’s team was defeated 91–77. Under Beard, Ole Miss has never lost at home before. Ole Miss started the game strong, leading the Tigers by nine points at the half, and went into the locker room ahead of Auburn 44–35. After scoring 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play, Ole Miss’ senior guard Matthew Murrell took the lead. But the game really got going in the second half of hoops.
With 15 minutes left in the game, the Tigers and Auburn were knotted at 50 points. The rest of the half saw back-and-forth play until Auburn took the lead at 11 points, increasing pressure on the Rebels.After that, Ole Miss’s chances of winning the game were slim as the Tigers led the Rebels 75-69 with five and a half minutes left. Allen Flanigan led Ole Miss in scoring with 20 points, while Murrell (18), Moussa Cisse (12), and Jaemyn Brakefield (15) also scored in double figures. Ole Miss shot 42 percent from three and 45 percent from the field as a team, while Auburn shot 44 and 55 percent from the field, respectively. After licking their wounds, the Rebels will get ready to head to Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday night to play the South Carolina Gamecocks. Ole Miss will face another road challenge because South Carolina has a formidable 19-3 (7-2) record.
