Every week, we’ll be previewing Auburn Basketball’s upcoming opponents. This week, Auburn travels to Oxford to face the Ole Miss Rebels, and hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in Auburn Arena.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss is coached by Kermit Davis, who is in his 4th season in Oxford. He has 26 years of head coaching experience and has amassed 520 wins.
The Rebels are 9-6 on the season, with losses to Marquette, Elon, and Boise State. Their most impressive wins have come over Memphis and Dayton. The last game that the Rebels played came against Texas A&M, with the Aggies winning big. They are averaging 69.2 points per game, while allowing an average o 64.4.
Players to Watch For: #24, guard Jarkel Joiner and #3, center Nysier Brooks
Joiner is the leader for this Ole Miss team. The 6’1″ junior leads the Rebels in points per game and assists per game, with 13.6 and 2.8 respectively. He also has has a respectable 3-point-percentage, at 35.5%. Brooks is the dominant big man on the team, standing at an even 7-feet tall. He averages 8.3 rebounds per game, and gets a fair share of the team’s blocks. It is also worth noting that he also leads the team in fouls per game with 2.7.
Auburn plays Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday, January 15th.
Georgia
Georgia is coached by Tom Crean, who is in his fourth season with the Bulldogs. Crean has been a head coach in college basketball since 1999, with multiple NCAA tournament births to his name. He spent nine years at Marquette, then nine years at Indiana, before being fired, then hired at UGA. He has a 46-60 record at Georgia.
This year hasn’t been a good one for Georgia basketball. They have amasses a 5-11 record, losing their last 5 in a row at the time of this writing. Their only win worth noting is a home victory over Memphis, but they have several bad losses including Wofford, Gardner-Webb, and George Mason.
Players to watch for: #3, guard Kairo Oquendo and #10, guard Aaron Cook
Oquendo is the biggest scoring threat for the Bulldogs, averaging almost 14 points a game. He also shoots 48% from the field, so he’s highly efficient. Cook is the the ball handler and set-up man for the club, averaging over 6 assists per game. It is worth noting that Cook has trouble taking care of the ball though; he averages 3.4 turnovers per contest.
Auburn hosts Georgia on Wednesday, January 19th.
