Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball have been on a roll so far this season and the rolling continued Wednesday night in The Pavilion.
After opening the 2019 portion of this seasons schedule with a huge SEC road win over Vandy this past Saturday, Ole Miss basketball (12-2, 2-0) was back in action Wednesday night. The Rebels played hosts to the No.10 Auburn Tigers (11-3, 0-1) and came away with a huge win. Behind a strong double-double game from senior Terence Davis the Rebels picked up the 82-67 victory.
The Rebels once again picked up where they left off in Nashville against Vandy and controlled the game from tipoff taking a huge 42-29 lead into the locker room at the half. The second half was more of the same as the Tigers couldn’t find the basket or defense to slow down the Rebels. Ole Miss outscored Auburn 40-38 in the second half and picked up the win in front of a very loud Ole Miss crowd. We will take a closer look at the game by the numbers.
By The Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels
Once again the Rebels dominated the game in almost every major category. While the Rebels have seen their field goal percentage drop slightly. Ole Miss basketball as a team shot .453 from the field while holding the Tigers to just .328 from inside the arc. Beyond the arc the Rebels shot .368 while Auburn shot .359 from 3-point range. From the charity stripe the Rebels shot .730 while Auburn could only muster .529 from the line.
Defensively the Rebels were outstanding and out-rebounded Auburn 45-37 while creating 16 Tigers turnovers with 11 steals. The Rebels have not seemed to shake the turnover bug themselves committing 17 TOs and allowing 6 steals. However, the fast-paced nature of Kermit Davis system is prone to turnovers and the more this team plays together the better the turnover margin should be.
Rebels Individual Numbers
On the evening there were four Rebels who scored in double-digits with one Rebel, senior Terence Davis who scored a double-double. Davis had 27 points to lead all Rebels plus he had 12 boards. Davis also had 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Freshman KJ Buffen added 16 points to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals. Sophomore Devontae Shuler scored 14 on the night while also tallying 1 board and 2 steals. Junior center Dominik Olejniczak added 11 points while pulling down 7 rebounds. Olejniczak also had 2 assist and 1 steal against Auburn.
Observations
First and foremost this Ole Miss basketball team is far better than many college basketball pundits had projected. If the SEC opening road win over Vandy was a statement win for the Rebels and it was then the win over No.10 Auburn is definitely a ‘program changing’ win. No.10 Auburn entered The Pavilion with only 2 losses coming at the hands of No.1 Duke and NC State. Coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels have managed to play themselves into second place in the SEC with their 9th consecutive win.
Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball will be back in action Saturday as they travel south to take on No.14 Miss State. Be sure to check back for our Ole Miss/Miss State preview. Tipoff from Starkville and The Hump is set for 12pm CT and the game will be televised via CBS. Congrats to coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels. Thanks for the great win. Hotty Toddy!