Ole Miss Fails to Pull off Upset of No. 4 Auburn, Falls 80-71 in Oxford

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss failed to pull off a historic upset of the No. 4 Auburn Tigers on Saturday night, falling 80-71 at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford.

Ole Miss (9-7, 1-3 SEC) is now 8-2 this season at home after its loss to Auburn (16-1, 5-0 SEC). The Rebels have a record of 0-2 on the road and 1-3 at neutral sites.

Saturday would have marked the Rebels’ first win over a top-five team since knocking off No. 5 Florida in the SEC Tournament on March 10, 2001. The last regular season win for the Rebels over a top-five team came on Jan. 22, 2000 at home against the same Auburn Tigers, also ranked No. 4 at the time.

Nysier Brooks and Tye Fagan led the Rebels in scoring with 17 and 14 points, and Brooks secured eight rebounds. Ole Miss shot 45.3 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three compared to Auburn’s percentages of 50 and 32 respectively. The Tigers were led in scoring by Walker Kessler with 20. Potential NBA lottery pick Jabari Smith was second for the Tigers in scoring with 15.

Ole Miss got off to a hot start in the first half, leading by as many as 14 before halftime, but its lead was cut to 44-38 by the intermission. Auburn then outscored Ole Miss 42-27 in the second half.

Following its loss to Auburn, Ole Miss will stay at home home on Tuesday to face Missouri in Oxford. Tip-off between the Rebels and Tigers is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.

Follow The Grove Report On Facebook and Twitter.

Add us as a preferred source on Google