Auburn defeats Ole Miss 78 to 66

January 20, 2026 – OXFORD – The Auburn University men's basketball team defeated the Ole Miss team by a score of 78 to 66.

Auburn outshot Ole Miss 43% from the field while holding Ole Miss to just 36%. Auburn continued to struggle from the three point line with just 12 percent shooting. Auburn excelled from the free throw line – hitting 82% of their shots.

Auburn dominated the board totaling 42 while limiting Ole Miss to just 26.

Auburn Coach Steven Reed said, "That's an important win. Not a lot of teams are going to come in here and get this win... We didn't panic when it came down to 3."

Senior Forward Keyshawn Hal led the Tigers with 19 points and 6 rebounds.

Sophomore Guard Tahaad contributed 17 points and 3 assists.

"He was a floor general tonight in the truest sense," said Coach Pearl. "He managed the game really well at a high level... He played great tonight."

Senior Forward KeShawn Murphy scored 16 points and led the Tigers with 14 rebounds.

"He had a different level of focus with how intentional he was with being a presence on the inside," said Coach Pearl. "He played phenomenal."

"We really needed that one," said Coach Pearl. "We really needed the last two. I told the guys, 'Listen, these next two are must‑wins. We gotta put our backs up against the wall and play desperate.' And I thought we played desperate defensively these last two games."

Auburn improves to 3 and 3 in the Southeastern Conference and 12 and 7 overall. This is Coach Pearl's first season as head coach after his legendary father Coach Bruce Pearl retired from coaching as Auburn's all-time winningest basketball coach.

The Tigers will play at Florida next on Saturday.

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