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Ole Miss Beats Auburn 69-59 Behind the Momentum of Stefan Moody's 19-point First Half

By The Ghost of Jay Cutler
Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

Senior Ole Miss guard Stefan Moody had a highlight reel of a performance against Auburn today, pouring in 23 points, pulling down two rebounds and dishing out five assists to lead his Rebels to a 69-59 win over the Auburn Tigers at Auburn Arena. Marcanvis Hymon added 13 and Tomasz Gielo chipped in 11, but the offense was all Moody, particularly in the first half during which he scored an impressive 19 points.

Ole Miss started the contest slowly, falling to an early 8-0 deficit. The Rebels though took command of the game quickly, using Moody's ability to create offense anywhere and sound ball control - Ole Miss committed eight turnovers, which was one half of the mark set by Auburn - to overwhelm the Tigers. With just under ten minutes to go in the first half, Ole Miss took a lead which Auburn would not be able to surmount.

Then, in the second half, this happened:

So, yeah, it was the Stefan Moody show today in Auburn. We maintain the editorial stance that such is a good thing.

Up next for the Rebs is a Tuesday night date with Missouri in the Tav Pav before a road trip to Georgia, a revenge opportunity against State at home, and a regular season-closing road contest against Tennessee. With just a handful of games to go before the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss finds itself way on the outside looking in with regards to an NCAA Tournament bid. Winning out and making a deep run may afford the Rebs a chance to find themselves on the bubble, but it feels like nothing short of an SEC Tourney title would get the Basketbears to the Big Dance. But, with the SEC being as wide open (see: not all that good) as it is, few of the conference's programs can say that they're sure of their postseason fate. So keep watching this team, y'all. We can't be sure they aren't capable of crashing the party in a few weeks, and Stefan Moody has done nothing but earn your divided attention.

PS - Auburn, what are you even doing?