NASHVILLE — In the end, Auburn was just too big and too long.
I know, I know. Insert the Michael Scott that’s-what-she-said gif here, but in reality, it’s that simple for Ole Miss against the Tigers.
To beat them, the Rebels have to be almost perfect. On Friday, in the third meeting between the two teams, this one in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Ole Miss was solid but far from perfect.
Ole Miss put up a valiant effort before succumbing to Auburn, 62-57.
Ole Miss committed just 10 turnovers while forcing 15. The Rebels scored 18 points off turnovers and held Auburn to just six. The Tigers dominated the boards, 38-28, but Ole Miss negated that by winning second-chance points, 11-4, and tying the Tigers in points in the paint, 26-26.
Ultimately, the Rebels simply didn’t shoot it well enough. Ole Miss was 20-for-53 (38 percent) from the floor and just 4-for-23 (17 percent) from the 3-point line. Some of that was Auburn’s length. The Tigers are disruptive on the perimeter. Some of it was just missed shots. It’s a make-or-miss game, of course, and had a few of those 3s fallen, this might be a much different story.
Auburn, now 28-4, has lost just four times this season — at Duke, at home to Florida, at Texas A&M on the Aggies’ senior night and then six days ago at home versus Alabama. The Blue Devils and Gators are going to be No. 1 seeds on Sunday. Alabama is likely going to earn a No. 2 seed and the Aggies are likely to find themselves on the 3- or 4-line.
In other words, beating Bruce Pearl, Johni Broome and the Tigers can be a herculean task. Ole Miss, which lost by 10 and then by 30 in its first two clashes with Auburn, was much closer this time to pulling it off on Friday. The Rebels just couldn’t close the deal.
Late in the second half, Sean Pedulla tied the game at 46-46. Ole Miss got its next possession with a chance to take the lead but it was an empty trip. The Tigers then went on a 6-1 run. It wasn’t much. It wasn’t particularly impressive, but for Auburn, it was enough.
Even after that, Ole Miss was unrelenting in its effort. JuJu Murray’s free throws with 37 seconds left pulled Ole Miss to within 60-57. Auburn then turned to the SEC’s Player of the Year, Broome, who went to work on the low blocks, ultimately delivering the dagger with 11 seconds remaining.
On Friday, it really didn’t matter. Ole Miss, now 22-11, will learn its NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Rebels seem to be in line for a No. 5 or 6 seed, meaning they’ll be likely traveling to Denver, Seattle, Milwaukee or Providence, Rhode Island, sometime next week.
If the Rebels are playing a second-round game next weekend, there won’t be a mulligan if they’re sloppy with the basketball or cold from the perimeter.
Thirty-three games into the season, that’s where the Rebels are. A brand new season begins Thursday or Friday, and Ole Miss will wear home colors in the first round. The Rebels are dangerous when they protect the ball. They’re tenacious on defense, well-coached (that’s an understatement) and they have enough weapons to put run together to finish opponents.
Ole Miss, like the rest of their SEC brethren, enter the NCAA Tournament battle-tested. They’ve beaten NCAA-bound teams such as BYU, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and others. They won’t play anyone better than Auburn next weekend, and if they can just be themselves and do what got them to this place, they have a real chance to make the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.
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