The Auburn Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, MS. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Auburn is favored by 2.5 points on the spread with a price of 60 cents to win and the total set at 150.5 points on Fanatics Markets.
Here’s my Auburn vs. Ole Miss predictions and college basketball picks for January 20, 2026.
Auburn vs Ole Miss Prediction
My Pick: Under 150.5 (Play to 148)
My Auburn vs Ole Miss best bet is on the under. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Auburn vs. Ole Miss Odds
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Auburn vs Ole Miss College Basketball Betting Preview
Auburn Basketball
It’s been an up-and-down first season at the helm for Steven Pearl, who has a big week ahead with road trips to Oxford and Gainesville.
Auburn is 11-7 overall and 2-3 in SEC play after a 71-67 home win over South Carolina on Saturday. The Tigers are 0-2 on the road in league play, falling in overtime at Georgia and by 10 at Missouri.
Offensively, Auburn checks in as the 14th-best unit nationally on KenPom, ranking 10th in offensive rebounding percentage and free-throw rate. The Tigers lean heavily on two talented creators in Keyshawn Hall and Tahaad Pettiford.
Both have been slumping of late. Hall scored just 18 combined points with nine turnovers over his last two games, while Pettiford has reached 12 points only once in the past five weeks.
As those two look to get back on track, 6-foot-8 freshman Filip Jovic broke out with a career-high 23 against South Carolina, where his strength, athleticism and interior scoring ability stood out.
Defense has been the main concern for this Auburn team.
While they enter this matchup with some momentum after a strong defensive effort against South Carolina, the Tigers still rank 86th nationally in defensive efficiency and sit last in the SEC in opponent effective field goal percentage and opponent 3-point percentage.
Ole Miss Basketball
Ole Miss has turned its season around over the past 10 days, rattling off three straight SEC wins after a 8-7 start. The Rebels took down Missouri at home, picked up an overtime road win at Georgia and recorded a one-point road victory over rival Mississippi State.
Chris Beard’s group had been underwhelming for much of the season, lacking the defensive acumen typically associated with his teams. Even after the three-game winning streak, Ole Miss ranks just 61st in defensive efficiency on KenPom, paired with the 78th-best offense.
Offensively, Beard leans heavily on individual creation from his big three: Ilias Kamardine, Malik Dia and AJ Storr.
After a month of offensive struggles and defensive lapses, Beard moved Storr to the bench — a decision that's paid dividends. Storr has looked like the player we saw at Wisconsin two seasons ago, averaging 23.3 points per game during the win streak.
Kamardine, a skilled 6-fot-5 point guard, has also looked more comfortable lately, posting 15 assists to just five turnovers over the same stretch.
Dia has been up and down as a scorer this season and has struggled somewhat recently, but he remains a tough matchup as a skilled 6-foot-9, 250-pound big.
The Rebels prefer a half-court style, ranking among the 50 slowest teams in the country. Their two biggest strengths this season have been ball security (top-50 in turnover rate) and rim protection (20th in block percentage).
Auburn vs. Ole Miss Betting Analysis
I was very out on Ole Miss not too long ago, but I have to at least respect the winning basketball it's played over the past 10 days … or do I?
The Rebels stole a game in overtime at Georgia and were fortunate to escape Mississippi State with a one-point win. Despite the win streak, their underlying metrics haven’t moved much, and I think it's been a little bit of positive regression more so than a turned corner.
That said, I’m not sure I trust Pearl and Auburn to go on the road and win a half-court game. South Carolina at home is the softest spot on the SEC schedule, and Auburn failing to create more separation there is concerning.
All of that leads me to the under. I expect this game to be played at Ole Miss’ pace at home, with both teams capable of defending the opposing stars.
In a lower-possession game where both sides take care of the ball, points could be at a premium.
My Pick: Under 150.5 (Play to 148)
