The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will play its final road game of the regular season against Auburn on Saturday, February 28. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Ole Miss enters the matchup with an overall record of 11-17 and a conference record of 3-12 under head coach Chris Beard, who is in his third season with the program. Auburn holds a 15-13 overall record and is 6-9 in SEC play, led by first-year head coach Steven Pearl.
The two teams have met previously this season, with Auburn winning their January matchup in Oxford by a score of 78-66. In that game, AJ Storr led Ole Miss with 18 points while Keyshawn Hall paced Auburn with 19 points.
Auburn currently sits in 11th place in the SEC standings and is projected as a No. 10 seed for the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN Bracketology. The Tigers are ranked No. 35 in NET and No. 37 by KenPom ratings. They are among the top teams nationally in free throw attempts (second), free throws made (third), offensive rebounds (12th), and scoring (36th).
Keyshawn Hall leads Auburn offensively, averaging 20.8 points per game—fourth-best in the SEC—and has made more free throws than any other player in the conference this season.
Steven Pearl took over as Auburn’s head coach after serving as associate head coach from 2023 to 2025 and assistant coach from 2017 to 2023. He played collegiate basketball at Tennessee under his father Bruce Pearl from 2007 to 2011.
For Ole Miss, limiting turnovers has been a strength throughout the season; they average just under ten per game, ranking second in the conference and among national leaders for fewest turnovers committed.
AJ Storr has been an important contributor off the bench for Ole Miss during SEC play, averaging over seventeen points per game and recording several high-scoring performances that have helped secure key victories for the team.
Freshman guard Patton Pinkins also stands out for his efficiency; he scored a career-high twenty-five points earlier this year against Oklahoma and maintains one of the lowest turnover totals among qualifying players in the conference.
Defensively, Ole Miss averages over four blocks per game with contributions from multiple players including James Scott, Malik Dia, and Corey Chest.
Malik Dia has recorded four double-doubles this season—matching his previous career total—and continues to provide consistency inside for Ole Miss.
Looking ahead, Ole Miss recently signed Jaron Saulsberry from Georgia’s Wheeler High School and Yohance Connor from Charlotte, North Carolina as part of their incoming recruiting class for next year. Both recruits are rated highly within their respective states by national scouting services.
Chris Beard reached his fiftieth win as head coach at Ole Miss earlier this season following a victory over Southern Miss—a milestone achieved faster than most coaches in program history.
