One of the hottest teams in the country is in action on Saturday night in the January 15th Auburn at Mississippi betting matchup. The Tigers will go for their 13th win in a row when they visit Ole Miss as -7.5 favorites in this contest. That number is down from a -9 open, and Auburn could be in a bit of a letdown spot after beating rival and #24 ranked Alabama Tuesday night on the road.
The Rebels are in a tough spot here, not looking very good in a 67-51 loss at Texas A&M this week as they continue life without leading scorer Jarkel Joiner who is out until late February with a back injury. Ole Miss swept the season series last year and is 8-1 at home, but they look very overmatched on paper in this spot.
Tigers in the Zone
Auburn is a 115-109 2OT loss to then #22 Connecticut in the Bahamas away from having an unblemished record on the season. The Tigers answered a huge challenge on Tuesday, handing #24 Alabama their first home loss of the year as Auburn won 81-77 even as +3.5 road underdogs.
Auburn just might be for real as their 15-1 record has come while playing the nation’s #7 hardest strength of schedule. The Tigers are just #8 in the KenPom rankings, but also have a top 20 adjusted offensive efficiency. Bruce Pearl’s calling card this year has been his defense which ranks 15th in opponent field goal percentage (38%) and have the #6 adjusted defensive efficiency in the country.
The Tigers would seem to have a major talent advantage in the January 15th Auburn at Mississippi betting tilt. Auburn has three players that average at least a dozen points per game led by Jabari Smith who just had 25 against Alabama on Tuesday. Wendell Green has been consistent with 12+ points in eight straight and K.D. Johnson is averaging 18 ppg over his last two.
Can Rebels Keep This One Close?
Ole Miss looked fine in their first game without Jarkel Joiner (13.6 ppg), beating Mississippi State 82-72 on January 8th as +2.5 road underdogs. Matt Murrell blew up for a season high 31 points, 7-footer Nysiel Brooks had 15 points and 16 rebounds while both Jaemyn Brakefield and Daeshun Ruffin had 15+.
The win over the Bulldogs wasn’t the problem for the Rebels, that was the 67-51 defeat at Texas A&M on Tuesday night. Murrell had 11 points, Ruffin 10 but those were the only two players in double figures for the Rebels. Brooks had just 9 points and 5 rebounds and it really makes you wonder which version of this team is going to show up in the January 15th Auburn at Mississippi betting matchup.
To be fair the loss to the Aggies was on the road, and Ole Miss will have a much better chance to at least cover the number at home on Saturday. Then again the Rebels did lose 75-73 at home to Samford on December 21st as -14.5 favorites.
Free January 15th Auburn at Mississippi Betting Pick
Is there an upset on the menu on Saturday night? It really doesn’t look likely just because of Mississippi’s inconsistency is a major issue. Auburn has the defense that can travel and have won all four of their true road games this season.
Auburn 85 – Mississippi 72
Free Pick: Auburn -7.5
