A matchup with an Ole Miss team on a 10-game losing streak was an opportunity for Auburn to get a better handle on its NCAA Tournament chances that were slipping away.
Instead, it was the game that slipped away, a second straight loss for Auburn (15-14, 6-10 Southeastern Conference) to a team below it in the league standings. Auburn will try again to take advantage of a lesser foe when it hosts LSU (15-14, 3-13) on Tuesday night.
“We had an opportunity to step on their throats and extend the lead and we just had empty possessions offensively,” coach Steven Pearl said after his team’s 85-79 defeat on Saturday.
Auburn led Ole Miss by eight points with 17 minutes left in the game and got outscored 45-31 the rest of the way. Tahaad Pettiford’s 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting weren’t enough.
The squandered opportunity was consistent with Auburn’s overall performance. Auburn began SEC play 5-3 but has lost seven of eight since.
LSU took a step back in an 83-67 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. Three competitive defeats were followed by a double-overtime road win at Ole Miss before the loss to the Sooners.
“We just couldn’t execute with the same efficiency (on offense),” coach Matt McMahon said in reference to the 106-99 win at Ole Miss.
LSU center Michael Nwoko has come off the bench the last two games after starting the first 27, with Robert Miller III making his first two starts.
Nwoko had 18 points against Ole Miss, his highest total in six games, before slipping to 11 against Oklahoma. Miller logged 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks against the Rebels and six points, eight rebounds and four blocks vs. the Sooners.
“It was a study of the combinations that we play and which lineups have been most efficient for us based on our NET ranking on offensive and defensive efficiency,” McMahon said of the lineup change. “It was just trying to get the best combinations on the floor to give us the best chance to win.”
