Ole Miss vs Auburn Odds, Pick for Saturday

Closing out the Saturday slate in the Southeastern Conference, No. 13 Auburn and No. 22 Ole Miss meet at Neville Arena for a matchup of nationally-ranked foes.

The Tigers have rattled off 10 consecutive victories coming into this game, owning a 15-2 mark overall and a 4-0 SEC record.

Meanwhile, the Rebels are playing well, matching Auburn in wins in Chris Beard’s debut campaign.

This has all the makings of a great battle on the hardwood between SEC West rivals to cap off a great day of hoops.

After starting with 13 straight victories, Beard’s team has hit some speedbumps on the road in conference action, dropping two of the first four league games at Tennessee and LSU.

However, Beard-led teams seem to win. He ranks 10th among active coaches with 10-plus years on the bench in career-winning percentage, at just over 71%.

It helps when you have a veteran scorer in Matthew Murrell on your roster. The senior guard became the 42nd member of the 1,000-point club at Ole Miss and continues climbing the record books.

The other Rebel who has stepped up recently has been Jaemyn Brakefield. The Mississippi-born forward has averaged over 17 points and five rebounds per game over the past eight contests.

This has been a dominant start to the season for Bruce Pearl’s team. The veteran coach has led the Tigers to their longest winning streak since winning 19 straight in the 2021-22 campaign.

Auburn has won every game by at least 11 points during the run. Pearl’s squad boasts an average scoring margin of +21.7 over this span.

Another victory here sets up an unbeaten SEC matchup with in-state rival Alabama next week. The first of two rivalry games will be on the road for the Tigers.

One of the critical contributors recently has been Chad Baker-Mazara. The JUCO transfer has finished in double figures in scoring in four of the last six, including a game-high 19 points in the win over LSU.

If he can continue to provide scoring along with Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams, add this team to your futures portfolio.

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Beard's worked his magic in year one under Beard, but the Rebels have played most of their games at home.

But I can't trust Ole Miss' defense on the road.

So, my best bet is to take Auburn to fly over its team total of 82 or better, which will be posted closer to the first tip after this article is released.

If you look at games played on away or neutral floors, Ole Miss ranks at the bottom of the SEC in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. Beard’s squad is also in the league's bottom half in effective field goal percentage allowed, defensive rebounding rate and 3-point defense.

The Rebels allowed 89 points at LSU and 90 at Tennessee in recent road conference tilts.

Meanwhile, Auburn has regularly lit up the scoreboard at The Jungle this season. In nine home games, the Tigers have eclipsed 82 points seven times.

Pearl’s team has been able to do this while only shooting 31.7% on 3-pointers so far at home. It's scary to think about what will happen when they start hitting shots, which the Tigers could do here.

Pick: Auburn Team Total Over 82 or Better

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