Every week, we’ll be previewing Auburn basketball’s upcoming opponents. This week, they travel for a rematch with the Florida Gators, and host a rematch with the Ole Miss Rebels.
Florida
Auburn and Florida have played once this season in Auburn Arena, where the Tigers came away with an 85-73 victory. The Gators are 16-10 on the year, with a 6-7 conference record. With that, they maintain their spot at the middle of the table.
The Gators are on a 2-game losing streak, with their last game being a loss to a scuffling Texas A&M team that was on an 8-game losing streak. At this point in the season, they are averaging 70 points per game while giving up 64.
KD Johnson had a career night in the first contest against the Gators, scoring 23 points. He had an excellent shooting night, going 7-13 from the floor, including 3-4 from deep. He also tallied 3 steals.
Players to watch for: #12, forward Colin Castleton and #00, guard Myreon Jones
Jones is Florida’s best shooter, leading the team in 3-point percentage by a good margin. He’s currently shooting 39.5% from behind the arc, averaging 9.4 points per game. Fans will remember Castleton from earlier in the year as the player who has probably matched up best with Walker Kessler other than Kentucky’s Oscar Tshibwe. He’s averaging over 30 minutes a game in conference play, leading Florida in both points per game with 16.6, and rebounds per game with 8.9. The big men down low will most likely be the matchup that decides this game.
Auburn travels to Florida Saturday, February 19th.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss and Auburn have faced off once this season, with Auburn taking an 80-71 victory in Oxford. The first matchup was a weird one, with Ole Miss taking an 8-point lead into halftime after an almost perfect half of basketball. Auburn used its defense to hold them to 27 points in the second half and come away with a win.
Ole Miss has struggled since the start of conference play, holding a 3-10 record in the SEC, with only one win away from Oxford.
Walker Kessler was the star of the first matchup, locking up a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, going 9-11 from the field. He also had 7 blocks.
Players to watch for: #24, guard Jarkell Joiner, and #3, center Nysier Brooks
Joiner is the leading scorer for the Rebs, and is their only player averaging over 30 minutes a game. He scores 14.7 points a night and shoots about 36% from deep. Brooks is the big man for Ole Miss, leading them in rebounds at 7.8 per game. He also leads the Rebs in field goal percentage at 58.6% percent, as most of his shots come right at the rim.
