AUBURN, Ala. – After completing season sweeps of Alabama and Georgia, No. 3 Auburn looks to add a third conference foe to the list Wednesday when the Tigers host Ole Miss.
Next Game:
Ole Miss
Feb. 23, 2022
7:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"It's a team that's capable," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "Obviously, very well-coached. It requires a great deal of effort and energy to be able to guard them."
Sweeps are nothing new to this series. In years when the Tigers and Rebels have played home-and-homes, the series has been swept seven consecutive occasions, with Auburn breaking out brooms in 2018 and 2020 while Ole Miss swept the Tigers in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Auburn overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the Rebels in Oxford 80-71 on Jan. 15 behind 20 points, 10 rebound and seven blocked shots from Walker Kessler.
"We were playing better offensively the last time we played Ole Miss," Pearl said. "We've got to really lock into how to guard Ole Miss because they're an excellent halfcourt offensive team."
For the fifth time this season, freshman Jabari Smith earned weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference. Against Vanderbilt and Florida, Smith averaged 29.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and two assists to be named freshman of the week.
"He's just an absolute competitor," Pearl said. "He just wants to win. Jabari is better than his matchup every night. We need Jabari to keep doing what he's doing but not to the point where he has to carry us."
With four games remaining in the regular season, first-place Auburn hopes to finish strong and hold off Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas to claim the SEC championship.
"It makes you appreciate what our guys have done to this point," Pearl said. "It makes me appreciate it."
Auburn (24-3, 12-2) hosts Ole Miss (13-14, 4-10) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network at Auburn Arena. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will call the action on the Auburn Sports Network.
PLAYER TO WATCH: ZEP JASPER
Senior guard Zep Jasper is the Tigers' top on-ball defender and is their top ball protector, having committed just 17 turnovers in 566 minutes this season, which is one every 33.3 minutes. He has not committed a turnover in the last 10 SEC games, with his last in league play on Jan. 11 at Alabama. His 3.24 assist-to-turnover ratio would be tops in the SEC if he met the minimum of three assists per game to qualify. The current leader, TyTy Washington, has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.37.
INSIDE THE SERIES: OLE MISS
Auburn leads 78-64 in the all-time series with Ole Miss. In the first meeting on Jan. 15, the Tigers overcame a 14-point deficit on the road to win, 80-71. Walker Kessler paced the Tigers with a then career-high 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots. It was one of 10 double-doubles this season for Kessler.
Auburn, who has a chance to sweep the season series Wednesday, previously claimed series sweeps against the Rebels in 2017-18 and 2019-20. Four of the last six meetings between the two schools have been decided by single digits with two of the last five meetings going to overtime.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Auburn is a perfect 14-0 on its home court this season and have won 16 in a row at Auburn Arena dating back to last season. The 16-game home win streak is seventh longest in the country and second longest in the SEC. It's also the fifth-longest home court winning streak in program history and the longest since the Tigers won 19 straight at home from Feb. 2019 to March 2020.
Auburn's top 5 home winning streaks:
1. 36 (Jan. 26, 1957 – Jan. 2, 2961)
2. 30 (March 11, 1998 – Feb. 19, 2000)
3. 19 (Feb. 20, 2019 – Feb. 25, 2020)
4. 17 (Jan. 11, 1927 – Feb. 9, 1928)
5. 16 (Feb. 27, 2021 – Current)
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer