- Ole Miss lost a close game to Auburn in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.
- The Rebels played much better defensively than in their previous matchup with Auburn.
- Despite the loss, Ole Miss is expected to earn a bid in the NCAA tournament.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard makes a distinction between disappointment and despair.
Disappointment abounded in the Rebels’ locker room Friday at Bridgestone Arena. Ole Miss (22-11), seeded No. 8 in the SEC tournament, lost 62-57 against top-seeded Auburn in the quarterfinals. Auburn (28-4), the No. 3 team in the nation and likely a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, relied on star Johni Broome to deliver the win in a back-and-forth final minute.
“It’s a disappointed locker room right now, because we expected to win this game,” Beard said. “I didn’t think we got beat though. Like I told the guys. Sometimes you win, sometimes you run out of time.”
Ole Miss overcame a 10-point Auburn lead with three minutes left in the game and pulled within three points with 38 seconds left.
That why despair wasn’t present postgame. It’s a change from a little over two weeks ago when the Rebels were blown out 106-76 on Feb. 26 in Auburn. After that game, which remains a record number of points allowed for Ole Miss under Beard, the coach harangued his defense, calling it “nonexistent.”
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Sixteen days after one of the Rebels’ worst showings of the season, Ole Miss was in a one-possession game with 40 seconds remaining against the class of the SEC. Beard said it bodes well for the NCAA tournament.
“I thought we played some good defense today,” Beard said. “They are the SEC champs. Projected No. 1 seed. You guys just saw it. What does that make Ole Miss?”
Like in the previous matchup, in which Broome scored 24, the Rebels struggled to contain Broome. The SEC Player of the Year scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds on Friday. The Rebels kept the game close by containing everyone else. Auburn’s Denver Jones scored 13 and Miles Kelly added nine. Broome’s supporting cast scored 39 on Friday and 82 on Feb. 26.
“I just want to congratulate Ole Miss on a great season so far,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “That team is capable in the NCAA tournament of making some noise. They’re an older team; pretty good group of veterans and they obviously play the right way.”
Ole Miss hasn’t received a bid to March Madness since 2019. That will change Sunday and Friday was a good sign for the future despite the loss.
“I think it was just a different level of focus and intensity coming into the game,” Ole Miss senior guard Dre Davis said. “Preparation. Being locked in on what we said we were going to do. We had some slip-ups here and there but for the most part, we stuck to the game plan.”
More: What Bruce Pearl said about Ole Miss basketball in March Madness after beating Rebels for third time
Ole Miss is a decent 3-point shooting team. The Rebels’ 34.1% team rate is No. 9 in the SEC. It wasn’t reflected Friday. Beard said he thought Ole Miss got about 17 quality looks. The Rebels were 4-for-23 (17.4%) in the game.
“If we make a couple more shots today, get one more rebound, we win the game,” Beard said.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
