Kermit Davis reveals Ole Miss' struggles closing Auburn game

Ole Miss is out of consideration for the NCAA Tournament but still had the opportunity to get an impressive win on Wednesday. Head coach Kermit Davis led his team out on the road against Auburn, one Bruce Pearl is calling a rivalry. The Rebels were not able to travel back to Oxford with a win, falling 78-74.

Davis was asked why Ole Miss struggled down the stretch, saying there was not too much to it. He thinks both sides just played a great college basketball game. However, he did go on to criticize some of the late-game officiating, saying some calls went in favor of the home team.

“That was just college basketball,” Davis said. “I mean, our best player had two right at the rim — layups — and missed. We guarded the heck out of them. I thought the last call was tough, the blocking call. Calling an illegal screen on us. You can call about 100 of those.

“They made all the free throws down the stretch. We were trying to make both free throws with Matt (Murrell). We missed the first to get it to one… It was a heck of a college game and just two teams playing really hard tonight.”

Murrell had the opportunity to cut the Ole Miss deficit down to one with just over six seconds to go. He missed the front end of the double bonus before making the second. With Auburn up two, Wendell Green was able to put the game on ice moments later thanks to two made free throws.

Ole Miss now sits eight games under .500 and has gotten swept by Auburn. Things have not been easy for Kermit Davis this season and Wednesday’s late game was not any better.

Bruce Pearls calls Ole Miss a rivalry game for Auburn

Fresh off a 78-74 win over Ole Miss on Wednesday, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl raised some eyebrows when he called the matchup a rivalry game for his program.

It’s unclear whether Pearl made the comment moreso in the context of the SEC’s three permanent opponents or in the more traditional sense, but it was interesting nonetheless.

“Ole Miss is a rival, too,” Pearl said. “We play them twice. I think we beat them twice last year, beat them twice this year. So beating Ole Miss four times in a row, that’s significant.”

The Rebels are, in fact, one of the three permanent double fixtures on the Auburn SEC schedule, along with Alabama and Georgia.