Broome, Cardwell lead No. 1 Auburn to victory at No. 23 Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. – Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell delivered double-doubles and all five starters scored in double figures to lead No. 1 Auburn to a 92-82 win over No. 23 Ole Miss Saturday at SJB Pavilion, the Tigers’ 13th consecutive victory.

“It was a great win, our best road win of the year,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “So many contributions and we never panicked.  Great environment here at Ole Miss and we appreciate all the Auburn faithful for coming out. A tough, gritty road win.”

Broome scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Cardwell added 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to lead Auburn to its eighth ranked win and 13th Quad-1 victory of the season.  

“Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome are so dominant, physically,” said Pearl, whose senior post players added eight assists, three blocked shots and two steals. “Our physicality was a factor. Our front line dominated.”

Chad Baker-Mazara scored 18 points, Denver Jones scored 16 and Miles Kelly added 15 to help the Tigers win their fifth SEC road game. Tahaad Pettiford contributed nine points and a game-high five assists on his way to a team-best plus-17.

“They want to win for Auburn,” Pearl said. “They recognize that this is a special team. They want to make history. We played some beautiful basketball. Every time Ole Miss made a run, we answered.”

Auburn made 14 3-pointers, shooting 50-percent from long range. Jones and Baker-Mazara each made four 3-pointers while Kelly added three. 

Leading by seven at the half, Auburn used an 8-0 run to take a nine-point lead on 3-pointers from Kelly and Pettiford. 

The Rebels pulled within one with 8:05 remaining but the Tigers regained momentum on a pair of Baker-Mazara 3-pointers and Pettiford’s dunk after Jones’ steal and assist. 

Pettiford drove and dished to Cardwell, who drew a foul while dunking, adding a free throw to give Auburn a 71-62 lead with 5:02 to play. 

Baker-Mazara was big down the stretch, helping the Tigers hold off the Rebels with an old-fashioned 3-point play and a jumper in the lane after Broome’s offensive rebound. 

“Really exciting to be here,” Baker-Mazara said. “Ole Miss always gives us a good game. We knew we had to come in prepared and do our thing. Nobody panics, everybody stays composed. The guys know how to be mature.”

Jones hit a 3-pointer to put Auburn ahead 79-70 before the Rebels scored five straight points in 24 seconds. 

Broome’s first basket of the second half, a 3-point play in the paint, gave Auburn a seven-point lead with 1:33 remaining.

The Rebels twice got within five, but Auburn went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds and put the game out of reach when Cardwell blocked a 3-point attempt, leading to Broome’s transition dunk with 34 seconds to play.

Auburn defeated the Rebels for the seventh straight time in the series despite shooting 12 fewer free throws.

Broome and Jones combined for 26 of Auburn’s 41 first-half points, going 5-for-5 on 3-point attempts, including Broome’s step-back 3 as the half expired.

The Tigers dominated the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Rebels 22-12 while taking a 41-34 halftime lead. 

The only unbeaten team in SEC play, Auburn (20-1, 8-0) returns to Neville Arena for two games next week, beginning Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT against Oklahoma on SEC Network.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

POSTGAME NOTES

• Auburn secured its program-best, fourth-straight 20-win season and the 16th in program history including the seventh in the last eight seasons under head coach Bruce Pearl. The Tigers’ previous record was three straight 20-win seasons from 1983-86 under head coach Sonny Smith.
• Auburn also matched a program record by reaching 20 wins in the first 21 games of the season (1927-28, 1998-99and 2021-22).
• AU remains the only undefeated team in SEC play at 8-0. It was the third time in program history the Tigers have won their first eight SEC games including the second time in the last four seasons after starting league play 10-0 in 2022. Auburn started a program-best 11-0 in SEC play in 1959.
• Auburn extended its program record with its eighth win over a ranked opponent this season. The Tigers are 2-0 in ranked matchups against Ole Miss as No. 13 Auburn beat No. 22 Ole Miss, 82-59, in Neville Arena last season. Auburn has won multiple SEC road games over ranked opponents in a season for the second time in program history after winning 70-68 at No. 23 Georgia on Jan. 18. During the 1987-88 season, the Tigers won 53-52 at No. 1 Kentucky, 58-57 at No. 10 Florida and 81-68 at No. 17 Vanderbilt. 
• The Tigers matched their longest winning streak in series history (1990-93 and 1965-68) with their seventh-straight win over the Rebels. Auburn is 11-4 in its last 15 contests against Ole Miss overall and has won four-straight meetings in Oxford. The Tigers now lead 84-64 in the all-time series with Ole Miss.
• Auburn extended its win streak to 13 games, which is the ninth-longest winning streak in program history. It was the fourth time the Tigers have won at least 13-straight games in the last eight seasons. Auburn has won its last 14 games against SEC opponents.
• The win marked Auburn’s nation’s-leading 13th Quad 1 victory. The Tigers entered the day with four more Quad 1 wins than any other team in the country.
• Bruce Pearl is 16-11 against Ole Miss in his head coaching career including 11-9 at Auburn. Pearl is 7-6 in Oxford against the Rebels including 6-4 during his time with the Tigers. He is 4-0 against Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard, including a 3-0 mark against Ole Miss and a 67-65 victory over Texas Tech at the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 22, 2016, in Cancun, Mexico.
• Auburn scored an SEC season-high 92 points including 51 points in the second half. It was the most points the Tigers have scored in any half of an SEC game this season. The 92 points are the most Auburn has scored in an SEC road game since a 101-74 win at Missouri last season, it is the most against a ranked team since a 101-61 win over No. 11 South Carolina last season and the most in a road SEC game against a ranked opponent since a 94-84 win at No. 23 Tennessee in 2018.
• Auburn made an SEC season-high 14 three-pointers, which is the most since the Tigers made 16 three-point field goals against Vermont in the season opener, as five different Tigers knocked down a shot from long range. It was the most 3-pointers Auburn has made in an SEC game since making 14 from beyond the arc at Georgia last season.
• Seven different players recorded an assist including four with at least four, as Auburn recorded an SEC season-high 22 assists at Ole Miss. It was the seventh time this season the Tigers have registered at least 20 assists.
• All five starters scored in double figures for the second time this season and the first time since the North Alabama game led by Johni Broome’s 73rd career double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists and two blocks. It is Broome’s 10th game of the season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He has recorded three straight double-doubles for the seventh time in his collegiate career, including the third time at Auburn. Broome has registered a double-double in all three games since returning to the lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury averaging 20.7 points and 14.0 rebounds to go with 3.0 blocks in wins over No. 6 Tennessee, at LSU and at No. 23 Ole Miss. Broome had a streak of six straight double-doubles earlier this season and four straight during the 2022-23 season. At Morehead State, he had four straight double-doubles during the 2020-21 season and five straight twice and four straight once during the 2021-22 season.
• Chad Baker-Mazara scored 18 points on 6-of-10 field goals, 4-of-6 shooting from deep and 2-of-3 from the foul line, and he added three assists, two rebounds and one steal at Ole Miss. Baker-Mazara led Auburn with 12 points in the second half on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, 2-of 3 from deep and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. 
• Denver Jones scored 16 points (including 13 points in the first half on 3-of-3 from deep) on 4-of-7 from long range in the contest. It was his third game of the season with at least four 3-pointers. 
• Miles Kelly scored 15 points, including 10 points in the second half, on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the foul line. It was Kelly’s 61st career game in double figures including 12 this season. He also has eight games with at least three 3-pointers this season.
• Dylan Cardwell recorded his second career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to go with four assists, two steals and one block at Ole Miss. It was the second time Broome and Cardwell recorded a double-double in the same game this season (Monmouth).