Men's Hoops Hosts No. 16 Auburn Tuesday

			OLE MISS (10-9, 1-5 SEC) vs. #16 AUBURN (17-2, 4-2 SEC) Tuesday, January 28 • 8 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
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GAME 20
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: ESPNU
   Kevin Fitzgerald, play-by-play
   Barry Booker, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Network (XM - 384, Sirius/XM Internet - 974)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: ESPN.com/ESPN app
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com/TuneIn app
Series: Auburn leads 77-60
Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2019
   Ole Miss won 60-55
   Auburn, Ala.

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss has won 12 of the last 14 matchups versus Auburn, including a sweep of last season's home-and-home series.
- The Rebels held the Tigers to a 32.8 field goal percentage in last year's two-game series.
- Kermit Davis enters Tuesday's game with 499 career wins as a college basketball head coach over 25 seasons; 433 of those victories have come in Division I, ranked 38th among active head coaches.
- Devontae Shuler averaged 15.5 ppg against Auburn last season.
- Blake Hinson missed the last matchup against the Tigers with the flu, the only game he missed as a freshman.
- After playing five of seven games on the road, four of the Rebels' next five games are at home.
- Tuesday's matchup begins a home-and-home series; Ole Miss heads to Auburn Feb. 25.
- Ole Miss was the only team in the SEC playing four of its first six conference games on the road.
- The Rebels are coming off a 70-60 victory over Georgia, beating the Bulldogs for the third straight time since 1988-90; Ole Miss shot 52.0 percent in the win, its best shooting percentage in SEC play this season.
- Ole Miss face a pair of ranked teams this week; the Rebels have played nine games against teams that have been ranked in the top 25 at some point this season.
- Bryce Williams' eight points at Georgia were the most by a Rebel off the bench in the past nine games.
- Khadim Sy (16) and KJ Buffen (14) combined for 30 points in the win at Georgia.
- Breein Tyree leads the SEC in scoring overall (18.9 ppg) and in conference games (25.4 ppg).
- Breein Tyree has increased his scoring output from non-conference to SEC play in each of his first three seasons.
- Veterans Breein Tyree (18.9 ppg), Blake Hinson (10.9 ppg), KJ Buffen (10.1 ppg) and Devontae Shuler (9.9 ppg) have accounted for 68.3 percent of the team's scoring this season.
- Breein Tyree is the SEC's leading active scorer with 1,528 career points, which also ranks 12th on the Ole Miss all-time scoring list; in the win over Georgia, he passed former teammate and current Toronto Raptor Terence Davis (1,512 points).

SEC LEADERS
- Breein Tyree leads the SEC in scoring overall (18.9 ppg) and in conference play (25.4 ppg); he is the SEC's active leader in career points (1,528) and field goals made (520).
- Tyree is the only player in the SEC to rank top five in field goal percentage (4th-46.9) and three-point percentage (3rd-45.5) during conference play.
- Tyree ranks second in threes made per game (3.0) and minutes played (37.4 per game) in conference play.
- Devontae Shuler ranks third in the SEC in steals (2.0 per game) during conference play.
- Shuler is one of four SEC guards to rank in conference's top 10 in both steals (5th-1.7) and assist/turnover ratio (7th-1.7).
- KJ Buffen is one of two SEC players to rank in the top 10 in steals (9th-1.5) and top 15 in rebounding (15th-6.3).

SCOUTING AUBURN
Auburn enters Tuesday's game ranked 16th in the Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the AP Poll. The Tigers have the best overall record of anyone in the SEC at 17-2 but sit two games back in the standings with a 4-2 conference mark. Auburn has outscored opponents 79.1-67.8 to lead the SEC in scoring margin (+11.2). The Tigers also rank top 25 nationally in blocks per game (13th-5.7), rebounds per game (17th-40.9), free throw attempts (17th-481) and scoring offense (79.1 ppg). Samir Doughty leads Auburn in scoring at 14.6 ppg, while Isaac Okoro adds 12.9 ppg. J'Von McCormick tops the SEC with a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio to go along with 11.0 ppg. Nearly averaging a double-double per game is Austin Wiley (10.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg). Bruce Pearl is in his sixth season guiding the Auburn program. He is in his 25th season as a head coach with stops at Southern Indiana (1992-2001), Milwaukee (2001-05) and Tennessee (2005-11) before arriving at Auburn in 2014.

SERIES HISTORY
Auburn leads the all-time series 77-60, but the Rebels have won 12 and the last 14 over the Tigers and 15 of the last 19. Ole Miss holds a 43-24 advantage in Oxford, including a 3-1 mark at The Pavilion. Prior to Auburn sweeping Ole Miss in 2018, the Rebels had a 10-game winning streak in the series. It was the longest in school history against an SEC foe, bettering a pair of eight-game streaks against LSU and Mississippi State. During the winning streak, five of the Rebels' victories occurred in Oxford, four in Auburn and one at the SEC Tournament (2012). Ole Miss avenged the 2018 series with a sweep of its own in 2019, beating the Tigers twice before they made their run to the Final Four.

LAST SEASON'S SWEEP
Game 1 (Oxford, Miss.) - Ole Miss 82, No. 10 Auburn 67: In front of a rowdy crowd at The Pavilion, Terence Davis scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Ole Miss to an 82-67 victory over No. 10 Auburn (Jan. 9, 2019). The Rebels controlled the game from the tip, leading throughout to secure their ninth straight win and earn a signature victory in the first SEC home game under head coach Kermit Davis. The win was also Ole Miss' first victory over a top 10 team in six years. Terence Davis' double-double led the way, while KJ Buffen added 16 points, a career high at the time, off the bench. Devontae Shuler reached double figures as well, tallying 14 points. Ole Miss held a 45-37 advantage on the boards and dominated the paint by outscoring the Tigers 30-12 in that area. Auburn, led by 23 points from Bryce Brown, fell in love with the three-ball. The Tigers attempted 39 from long range and made 14 for a 35.9 percent clip. Brown took 19 attempts from three alone to set a new Pavilion record. Ole Miss held the No. 10 team in the country to 22 of 67 (32.8 percent) shooting from the floor.

Game 2 (Auburn, Ala.) - Ole Miss 60, Auburn 55: Ole Miss completed the regular season sweep of Auburn behind a dominant defensive effort at Auburn Arena (Feb. 13, 2019). The Rebels held the Tigers to a season-low field goal percentage (32.7 percent) and point total in a 60-55 victory. Ole Miss was led by stellar guard play led by Tyree and Shuler. Tyree scored 20 points for the sixth straight game behind four three-pointers. Shuler added 17 of his own with a career-high tying four three-pointers, three coming when the shot clock was expiring. Terence Davis added eight points on 3 of 3 shooting, all in the second half. The Rebels shot 39 percent from the three-point line, making a season-high 13 three-pointers, the eighth-most in school history; the 33 attempts were the fifth-most in school history. Auburn was led by Chuma Okeke who had 23 points and 11 rebounds.

ON THIS DATE
Exactly one decade ago (Jan. 28, 2010), No. 18 Ole Miss went into Auburn and claimed an 84-74 victory. Chris Warren scored 20 points, Terrico White had 19 and the Rebels weathered Auburn's 3-point shooting. Ole Miss outscored Auburn 46-24 in the paint, with many of the points coming on drives to the basket. The Rebels attempted 19 fewer threes than the Tigers. The Rebels shot 57 percent and got 53 points from their three starting guards, including 14 from Eniel Polynice. Ole Miss won back-to-back league road games for the first time since 2001.

DAVIS SEEKS 500TH CAREER WIN
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis is approaching a milestone victory. In his 25th season as a college basketball head coach, Davis has collected 499 wins over 784 games (.636 winning percentage). His head coaching career started as a 24-year old at Southwest Mississippi Community College in 1984, the youngest junior college coach in the country, and he earned 66 victories over three season in the junior college ranks. Four years later at the age of 28, Davis became Idaho's head coach and was the youngest Division I head coach in the nation. Through 22 seasons as a Division I head coach, which includes becoming the winningest coach in Middle Tennessee and Sun Belt Conference history, Davis has 433 wins. He ranks 38th in victories among active Division I head coaches.

BREEIN LOVES SEC PLAY
Ole Miss senior Breein Tyree thrives during conference play. Not only is he the leading active scorer in the SEC (1,528 points), but his scoring output has increased from non-conference action to SEC play in each of his first three seasons. He kept the trend going to start SEC action this season, scoring 26 points against Texas A&M (Jan. 7) in the conference opener before tallying 27 versus Arkansas (Jan. 11). After missing the Florida game due to a back injury, Tyree returned better than ever and scored a career-high 36 points versus LSU (Jan. 18). With those performances, Tyree became the first Rebel to score at least 25 points in each of the first three SEC games of the season since Joe Harvell (1992). During the 1991-92 campaign, Harvell started conference play with four consecutive 30-point games. Tyree leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 25.4 ppg in conference games as the only player averaging at least 20 points per game.

Tyree's Seasons	Non-Conference	SEC
2016-17 (Freshman)	5.1 ppg	9.3 ppg
2017-18 (Sophomore)	9.0 ppg	12.3 ppg
2018-19 (Junior)	16.5 ppg	19.1 ppg
2019-20 (Senior)	16.5 ppg	25.4 ppg

REBELS EARN ROAD WIN AT GEORGIA
In front of a sold-out crowd at Stegeman Coliseum, Ole Miss shook off a hostile environment and earned a hard-fought 70-60 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs (Jan. 25). The Rebels shot 52.0 percent from the field while holding Georgia's leading scorer, Anthony Edwards, to just 13 points on 3 of 12 shooting to control the game and pick up the road win. Breein Tyree scored 20 points to pace Ole Miss offensively, his 10th game this season with 20 or more. The frontcourt duo of Khadim Sy and KJ Buffen combined for 30 points as well. Sy battled down low, scoring 16 points for his best SEC game as a Rebel on 6 of 12 shooting. In a return to his home state, Buffen added 14 points. The Gainesville, Georgia, native made 5 of 6 from the field, while making all four of his free throws. The Rebels dominated points in the paint, 38-20. Ole Miss held Georgia to a 30.9 field goal percentage (17 of 55). Edwards' 13 points led the way, although it was seven points below his season average.

BALANCED SCORING LEADS TO VICTORIES
It's no secret that a balanced offense helps in seeking victories. When Ole Miss finds that balance, it usually leads to positive outcomes. In wins, all five Rebel starters are averaging double figures: Breein Tyree (17.2 ppg), Blake Hinson (13.5 ppg), KJ Buffen (12.5 ppg), Devontae Shuler (11.3 ppg) and Khadim Sy (10.0 ppg). In losses, Tyree is the only Rebel scoring in double digits at 21.1 ppg.

GETTING IN THE PAINT
Despite getting outrebounded 38-28 at Georgia, Ole Miss found success scoring in the paint. The Rebels held a 38-20 advantage on points in the paint behind Khadim Sy and KJ Buffen. Sy was 6 of 12 from the floor for 16 points, his most in SEC play. Meanwhile, Buffen was nearly perfect down low (5 of 6) to go along with his precision at the free throw line (4 of 4) for 14 points. Breein Tyree also got to the rim often, leading to some of his team-high 20 points.

SHULER STATS
Junior guard Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in assists (3.6) and steals (1.7). The Irmo, South Carolina, native is one of four players to rank in the SEC's top 10 in both steals (6th-1.7) and assist/turnover ratio (7th-1.7), joining Kentucky's Ashton Hagans, LSU's Skylar Mays and Missouri's Dru Smith. Shuler has provided some consistency offensively, reaching double figures in eight of the past 11 games.

TYREE'S BIG GAMES
Breein Tyree has 10 20-point games on the season, producing three such contests in November and three in December to go along with four in SEC play. He has 32 20-point games over his Ole Miss career. His biggest game as a Rebel was a career-high 36 points versus LSU (Jan. 18), the most points by a Rebel since Deandre Burnett scored 41 points against Oral Roberts (Nov. 18, 2016). It was the most scored by an Ole Miss player in an SEC game since Stefan Moody dropped 43 to lead the Rebels over MSU on his senior night (March 3, 2016). Tyree also had 34 against Middle Tennessee (Dec. 14) to give him four 30-point games for his career. Last season, he scored 20 of Ole Miss' 60 points to lead the Rebels to an upset at Auburn (Feb. 13, 2019).

VETERANS LEAD THE WAY
The Rebels are led by a veteran cast. Senior guard Breein Tyree (18.9 ppg), sophomore Blake Hinson (11.0 ppg), sophomore forward KJ Buffen (10.1 ppg) and junior Devontae Shuler (9.9 ppg) have accounted for 68.3 percent of the team's scoring this season. Tyree tops the league in scoring, while Buffen leads the team in rebounding (6.3 per game) and blocks (0.8 per game). Shuler also paces the Rebels in assists (3.6 per game) and steals (1.7 per game), both top 10 in the SEC, while ranking seventh in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). Since returning from injury, Hinson has put together eight double-digit scoring performances, starting 14 games following the injury to Luis Rodriguez.

NEEDING BUFFEN
KJ Buffen was a primary bench player during his freshman campaign, but the 6-foot-7 forward is an important piece of the Ole Miss lineup as a sophomore. Starting all 19 games, one of only two Rebels to start each game, Buffen is averaging 10.1 ppg along with a team-best 6.3 rpg. His rebounding average is 15th in the conference. The Gainesville, Georgia, native is also leading the team in blocks (0.8), while ranking ninth in the SEC in steals (1.5 per game). Buffen tallied a career-high 23 points in a win over Norfolk State (Nov. 12) before producing his second career 20-point game to close out the calendar year against Tennessee Tech (Dec. 29). In the return to his home state, Buffen was 5 of 6 from the field and made all four of his free throws, tallying 14 points to help Ole Miss beat Georgia (Jan. 25). His play factors into the outcome of games. Buffen averages 12.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg in wins, while tallying 7.4 ppg and 5.1 rpg in losses.

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
In his final year as a Rebel, senior guard Breein Tyree ranks 12th on the all-time scoring list with 1,528 points. That career output leads all active players in the SEC. The Somerset, New Jersey, native scored 20 points in the win at Georgia (Jan. 25) to pass former teammate and current Toronto Raptor Terence Davis (1,512) on the all-time scoring list. Next on Tyree's climb up the charts is Don Kessinger (1,553) and Gerald Glass (1,564). He is 36 points from cracking the top 10. Through 117 games in an Ole Miss uniform, Tyree has knocked down 183 three-pointers to sit sixth in the program's rankings. He drained a trio of three-pointers against Tennessee (Jan. 21) to pass Stefan Moody (181).

BLAKE IS BACK
After missing the first four games of the season, sophomore Blake Hinson wasted no time making an immediate impact for the Rebels. The Deltona, Florida, native averages 10.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg, second among Rebels in both categories. Hinson has also started all 14 games following the injury to Luis Rodriguez, filling a void in the Ole Miss lineup. He scored a season-high 23 points in the win over CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 7). At Florida (Jan. 14), returning to his home state, Hinson produced his first career double-double with 16 points and career-high 11 rebounds.

TYREE TABBED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Breein Tyree was named one of 30 candidates for the 2019-20 Senior CLASS Award (Jan. 17). To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Tyree, one of five SEC men's basketball candidates, has been a leader on and off the court. As a sophomore, he earned a leadership role within the conference by being named Vice-Chair of the SEC Men's Basketball Leadership Council. He has headed the council as chair for the past two years. Tyree, the lone senior on the team, also serves on the Ole Miss Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on campus as a voice for Rebel athletes.

YEAR TWO OF THE DAVIS ERA
Kermit Davis is in his second season at the helm of Ole Miss Basketball. A nine-time conference coach of the year, Davis is 38th among active Division I head coaches with 433 career wins over 22 seasons, including stints at MT, Idaho and Texas A&M. In 25 seasons as a college basketball head coach, he has amassed 499 wins. Davis wasted no time making an impact in Oxford. With the Rebels coming off a last-place finish in 2017-18, the media picked Ole Miss to land at the bottom of the SEC standings again in 2018-19. However, the Rebels posted a 20-13 record to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. With a return to March Madness for the sixth time in his career, Davis joined a list of 63 coaches in college basketball history to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Davis was named SEC Coach of the Year by his peers and the Associated Press, earning conference coach of the year accolades for the ninth time in his career. He became the sixth Ole Miss coach to earn SEC Coach of the Year honors, while joining Andy Kennedy as the only Rebel coaches to collect the award in their first year in Oxford.

TD IN THE NBA
The Rebels are without 2018-19 Second Team All-SEC guard Terence Davis, who finished his career ranked 12th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,512 points. After going undrafted, Davis turned heads in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and quickly earned a multi-year deal with the reigning champion Toronto Raptors. Davis has become a regular in the Raptors' rotation to start the NBA season. The Southaven, Mississippi, native matched LeBron James with 13 points in the Raptors' win over the Lakers (Nov. 10). Earlier this month (Jan. 8), Davis was called upon to make his first career start, and boy did he deliver. The NBA Rebel scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, both team highs, to record his first double-double and lead the Raptors to a victory over the Hornets. He matched that scoring output in another win over the Washington Wizards (Jan. 17). Averaging 7.3 ppg, he is only Raptor to play in all 46 of the team's games. Davis is the first Rebel to play in the NBA since Justin Reed (2005-07).

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
The week battling Tigers continues as the Rebels head south to Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Feb. 1). Ole Miss will look to avenge an 80-76 loss to LSU earlier this season (Jan. 18). Tipoff for Saturday's game against the No 22 Tigers is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.

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Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Luis Rodriguez

Devontae Shuler

Khadim Sy

Breein Tyree

Bryce Williams

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