Ole Miss basketball loses by double digits to No. 3 Auburn

Ole Miss headed to Auburn on Wednesday night looking for the biggest upset of the year, but came up short, losing to the Tigers 77-64.

Auburn pulled away with a few first-half drives, including seven unanswered points to take an early lead. Ole Miss kept the hope alive by continuing

The Rebels have been unable to stay healthy this season, dealing with numerous injuries and illnesses. Tuesday was no different with Matthew Murrell leaving the game in the first half with an injury. After the game, head coach Kermit Davis announced that Murrell will try to go through concussion protocol and be ready to play Texas A&M in Oxford on Saturday.

“That was a tough one. You could tell it took him a while,” Kermit Davis said. “And Matt’s a tough, tough guy. So yeah, we ruled him out. They go through the protocol now but it’ll be tomorrow obviously too and he’s day-to-day. So we’ll see if he’s available for A&M on Saturday.”

Ole Miss looked to pull things close in the second half before dealing with multiple fouls making it much easier for the Tigers to pull away at the end. Both Nysier Brooks and Sammy Hunter were on thin ice with four fouls late in the game. With both of Ole Miss’ biggest players in foul trouble, the smaller Ole Miss players were no match for Auburn’s size.

Offensively, Jarkel Joiner, Luis Rodriguez, and Nysier Brooks all found themselves in double-digit scores for the Rebs, despite shooting 35.7 percent in the second half. Brooks also had seven rebounds on the day, while Jaemyn Brakefield and Luis Rodriguez both had six.

Ole Miss will return back to the Pavilion on Saturday against the Texas A&M Aggies. Tip-off is set for 2:30pm CT on the SEC Network.