Ole Miss lights up and frustrates Auburn, wins 72-61 in home opener

After laying an egg against Alabama and Wichita State, Ole Miss got back on track on the hardwood on Wednesday night, winning its conference home-opener against Auburn 72-61 in its new powder blue uniforms.

Helped by what can only be described as a largely-poor performance by Auburn, Ole Miss (6-3, 1-1 SEC) saw a strong offensive performance from Luis Rodriguez and Romello White, who dropped 12 points apiece, as well as defensively where the Rebels gave the Tigers (6-5, 0-3 SEC) fits. A surprising offensive contribution was found in Khadim Sy who went 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, dropping a total of 13.

Sy has been rumored to be battling some health-related issues this season and has not had as significant of playing time compared to last season, so it was good to see him regain form in an SEC game.

Ole Miss never trailed in the game, and it was a good way to start the home SEC slate, even if Auburn looked bad in its performance. The Rebels shot 45.8 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three compared to Auburn’s 36.1 percent from the field. Austin Crowley finished with 10 rebounds off the bench tonight, a career-high.

Ole Miss has a history of performing well when it wears powder blue, and that trend continued on Wednesday night. Could the color be magic? Folks are asking.

Also, here’s Luis Rodriguez taking a kid’s soul in transition. Hang it in the Louvre.

After an injury cut his season short last year, Rodriguez is back and better than ever this season. We’re glad to see it.

Ole Miss will be back in action in The Pavilion against South Carolina on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 5pm CST on the SEC Network.