In the third contest between conference rivals, Auburn basketball got its third victory over Ole Miss in a 62-57 finish in the quarterfinals of the 2025 SEC basketball tournament.
Auburn advances to meet the winner of No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 13 Texas in the semifinals Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Here’s how the Tigers got things started in Friday’s slate of conference matchups:
Denver Jones leads Auburn in first half
Auburn guard Denver Jones scored the Tigers first six points on back-to-back 3-pointers against the Rebels. The Tigers shot just 25 percent from deep in the early going with Jones and Tahaad Pettiford only connecting from beyond the arc.
Jones ended the first half with a game-high 10 points missing just one shot from the floor. Johni Broome added nine points as the Tigers held a seven-point lead at the break.
After trailing 11-6 early in the half, Auburn put together a 16-5 run giving the Tigers its first lead of the day. Ole Miss shot 27 percent from the floor despite leading the half in second chance points.
Auburn’s defense smothers Ole Miss
Ole Miss did a great job guarding the Tigers in the first half. However, the Rebels lack of offensive production put them in a hole early on.
Rebels guard Sean Pedulla was held scoreless until the final minutes of the first half. He finished the day with 12 points as Dre Davis also had 12 points.
Both teams struggled from 3-point territory overall as the Rebels shot 17 percent and Auburn shot 29 percent from deep. Auburn led the game with three blocks as two of them came against deep shot contest.
Auburn forced 10 Rebels turnovers scoring six points off of them. During the Tigers first half run, Ole Miss turned the ball over three times.
Even though the Tigers led the game with 15 turnovers, Ole Miss shot 37 percent from the floor, failing to establish an offensive identity.
Auburn commands frontcourt, advances to semifinal
Broome wrapped up his afternoon with 23 points and 14 rebounds, tying former Tiger Mike Mitchell’s program record of 18 double doubles in a season.
He commanded the Tigers frontcourt that led 37-28 in total rebounds and allowed just 26 points from inside the paint.
After a scoreless first half, Miles Kelly got things going with nine points to close out the game. Despite being replaced for Chris Moore in the starting lineup, Chad Baker-Mazara and Pettiford combined for 12 points off the bench.
Jones the Tigers second leading scorer with 13 points. Chaney Johnson and Jaheim Hudson combined for five points assisting in the Tigers dominance down low.
Auburn returns to the court Saturday afternoon for its semifinal round matchup.
Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].
