Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) goes up for a layup as the Auburn Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, Saturday, February 28, 2026. The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Auburn Tigers 85-79. Auburn’s latest loss is very similar to how the team’s past month has gone. It’s a missed opportunity.
The matchup against an Ole Miss team on a 10-game losing streak was Auburn’s chance to get the better of its fading NCAA Tournament chances.
Instead, it was a game where Auburn (15-14, 6-10 Southeastern Conference) suffered two consecutive losses to the bottom team in the league standings. Auburn will try again to take advantage of a smaller foe when it hosts LSU (15-14, 3-13) on Tuesday night.
“We had a chance to get on their necks and extend the lead and had empty possessions offensively,” coach Stephen Pearl said after his team’s 85-79 loss on Saturday.
Auburn led Ole Miss by eight points with 17 minutes left in the game and was outscored 45-31 the rest of the game. Tahaad Pettiford’s 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting wasn’t enough.
The wasted opportunities were consistent with Auburn’s overall performance. Auburn started SEC play 5-3, but has lost seven of eight games since then.
LSU took a step back on Saturday with an 83-67 loss to Oklahoma in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Three competitive losses were followed by a double overtime win at Ole Miss before a loss to the Sooners.
“We just weren’t able to be the same efficient (on offense),” coach Matt McMahon said regarding the 106-99 win at Ole Miss.
LSU center Michael Nwoko came off the bench for the last two games after starting the first 27 games, and Robert Miller III started the first two games.
Nwoko scored 18 points against Ole Miss, his highest score in six games, before slipping to 11 points against Oklahoma. Miller had 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks against the Rebels and six points, eight rebounds and four blocks against the Sooners.
“It was a study of what combinations we play and which lineups are most effective for us based on the NET rankings for offensive and defensive efficiency,” McMahon said of the lineup changes. “We just tried to get the best combinations on the court to give us the best chance to win.”
–Field level media
