Mississippi @ Auburn preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 28, 2020 ) Auburn 83, Mississippi 82

No. 15 Auburn showed plenty of heart to rally from 17 points down in the second half for a victory over the weekend and looks to ride that wave of emotion when they host struggling Ole Miss on Tuesday night in an SEC contest. The Tigers trailed 54-37 more than five minutes into the second half before running off 18 straight points and halting a two-game slide while extending their home winning streak to 18 with a 73-66 victory over Tennessee on Saturday.

“I got after my team at halftime,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl told al.com. “I was very upset with our lack of effort and energy, our toughness, and Tennessee really outplayed us. I thought that in the second half, from the beginning, we got a 5-second count and that sort of got us going. … You turn a team over 24 times, you have 18 steals, it tells you the kind of fight and the kind of character you have.” It was the third game for the Tigers without standout freshman Isaac Okoro (hamstring) and the 6-6 forward is still questionable for the rematch with the Rebels after Auburn squeezed out an 83-82 victory in double overtime on Jan. 28 in Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss senior Breein Tyree leads the SEC in scoring (20.6) and is averaging just under 30 points the last six games as the Rebels won the first three during that stretch, but dropped three in a row since after a 103-78 setback against Alabama on Saturday. “We’ve been competitive, especially at home, but we were just discombobulated tonight,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis told reporters after the latest loss. “We lost all kind of concept of pretending to guard.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT OLE MISS (13-14, 4-10 SEC): Tyree managed just six points on 2-of-8 shooting in the first matchup with Auburn, but the 6-2 guard has been on fire of late and went 8-for-12 from the field to score 28 in the loss to Alabama. Junior guard Devonate Shuler is second on the team in scoring (11.6) after pouring in 21 against the Crimson Tide on Saturday, and leads the Rebels in assists (3.4) and steals (1.8). Sophomore guard Blake Hinson also averages in double figures scoring (10.3) and sophomore KJ Buffen chips in with 9.6 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds, but the 6-7 forward is questionable with a back injury.

ABOUT AUBURN (23-4, 10-4): Senior guard Samir Doughty leads the team in scoring (16.2) and is averaging almost 20 points the past nine games after draining three 3-pointers en route to 22 in Saturday’s victory. The Tigers will likely have to make up Okoro’s 13.1 points per game again and freshman forward Jaylin Williams scored a season-high eight points on Saturday while 6-6 freshman swingman Devan Cambridge connected on three 3-pointers to score nine off the bench. Senior point guard J’Von McCormick (team-high 4.5 assists) is averaging 16.5 points over the last six games to boost his season mark to 12.0.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Auburn senior C Austin Wiley averages 10.5 points and is second in the SEC in rebounding at 9.3 per game.

2. Ole Miss junior F Khadim Sy averages 9.3 points overall and has drained 8-of-11 from the field the past two games.

3. The Tigers leads the SEC in rebounds per game (41.5) and the Rebels are 12th at 33.9.

PREDICTION: Auburn 78, Ole Miss 66