In the quarterfinals of the 2025 SEC basketball tournament, Auburn basketball defeated Ole Miss 62-57 for the third time in a matchup between conference rivals. The winner of No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 13 Texas will face Auburn in the semifinals on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

The Tigers began Friday’s league schedule with the following games: In the first half, Denver Jones leads Auburn. Denver Jones, a player for Auburn, made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Tigers their opening six points against the Rebels. In the early going, the Tigers only made 25% of their deep shots, with Tahaad Pettiford and Jones only making one outside the arc.

Jones missed only one shot from the field but finished the first half with a game-high 10 points. The Tigers led by seven points at the half after nine points by Johni Broome. Auburn strung up a 16-5 run to give the Tigers their first lead of the day after falling behind 11-6 early in the half. Despite having a lead in second-chance points at the half, Ole Miss only made 27 percent of their shots from the field. Ole Miss is smothered by Auburn’s defense.

In the first half, Ole Miss played excellent defense against the Tigers. But the Rebels were already down due to their inability to produce offensively. Up until the last few minutes of the first half, Rebels guard Sean Pedulla was kept scoreless. Both he and Dre Davis had 12 points at the end of the day. Overall, both teams had trouble from 3-point range, with Auburn shooting 29 percent and the Rebels shooting 17 percent. Two of Auburn’s three blocks against the deep shot contest gave them the lead in the game. Auburn scored six points off of the Rebels by forcing ten turnovers. Ole Miss turned the ball over three times during the Tigers’ first half surge.

Ole Miss shot 37 percent from the field and was unable to create an offensive identity, despite the fact that the Tigers led the contest with 15 turnovers. Auburn dominates the frontcourt and makes it to the semifinals. With 23 points and 14 rebounds to end the afternoon, Broome tied the program record of 18 double doubles in a season set by former Tiger Mike Mitchell. He was in charge of the Tigers’ frontcourt, which finished with a 37-28 rebounding record and only gave up 26 points from beyond the arc.

Miles Kelly got things going with nine points to end the game after the first half ended without any scores. Chad Baker-Mazara and Pettiford scored 12 points off the bench together, even though they were substituted for Chris Moore in the starting lineup. With 13 points, Jones is the second-leading scorer for the Tigers. The Tigers’ domination down low was aided by the five points scored by Chaney Johnson and Jaheim Hudson combined. On Saturday afternoon, Auburn will play again in the semifinals.

 

 

Not even 24 hours removed from their final game of the 2024-25 season, Auburn women’s basketball remains in the news cycle.

 

On Thursday, Auburn fired head women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris, according to a release from the university.

 

Harris spent four years with the program, compiling a record of 58-63. Auburn finished the 2024-2025 season 12-18, falling to Florida in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

 

“After a thorough review of our women’s basketball program, I have made the difficult decision that a leadership change is in the best interest of Auburn University,” athletic director John Cohen said in the release. “I thank Johnnie [Harris] for the way she represented Auburn and for her contributions to our women’s basketball program. While these decisions are never easy, the program must move in a new direction.”

 

The release also added that “a national search for a new women’s basketball coach will begin immediately.

 

Auburn was Harris’ first head coaching job, spending time as an assistant at Arkansas-Little Rock, NC State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Texas. She was at Mississippi State from 2012-2020, where Cohen was the athletic director for part of her duration.

 

While at Auburn, Harris brought the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament once in 2024, the program’s first appearance since 2019. It was also Auburn’s first 20-win season since 2018-2019, highlighted by an upset win over defending national champions LSU.

 

There was optimism for Harris and Auburn to build off that season in 2024-2025, but the Tigers seemed to take a step back.

 

Auburn won just 12 games, the fewest since Harris’s first season in 2021-2022. The Tigers also went a disappointing 3-13 in SEC play, the program’s lowest conference win total since the 2020-2021 campaign, the final season of former coach Terri Williams-Flournoy’s tenure.

 

Injuries ravaged the Tigers in 2024-2025, particularly affecting the offense. Auburn signed standout Arkansas transfer guard Taliah Scott in the offseason, but she only played three games all season due to a wrist injury.

 

Auburn also key guard Kaitlyn Duhon around the midway point of the season. She averaged 7.3 points in eight games, starting 20 games across her three-year career on the Plains.

 

 

 

 

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze greets fans during Tiger Walk before Auburn Tigers take on Vanderbilt Commodores at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze greets fans during Tiger Walk before Auburn Tigers take on Vanderbilt Commodores at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser

Auburn University announced on Friday that Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer. A full statement was released on social media channels

 

“Thankfully, it was detected early and his doctors have advised that it is very treatable and curable,” Auburn said in the statement. “He will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities, and with forthcoming proper treatment, is expected to make a full recovery.”

 

The Auburn football team is currently undergoing winter workouts in anticipation of spring practice, which is set to begin after Auburn’s spring break on March 25. Freeze laid out a plan in which the Tigers will practice four days per week, including one teaching day. 11 practices are scheduled, and the 12th practice will be the A-Day game on April 12.

 

Following the program’s announcement on Friday, Freeze spoke out for the first time on social media on Sunday morning.

 

“You were made for more!” said Freeze on X, formerly known as Twitter. “God’s spirit has given you power and with that power comes purpose. Our purpose is not to arrive at the gates of heaven unscathed. Our purpose is to pick someone up, to get our hands dirty, to be a shoulder to lean on.

 

“Your purpose IS great, NOT easy! Thank you so much for everyone’s thoughts and prayers.”

 

Freeze is heading into his third season as head coach of the Auburn Tigers. After taking the role in November of 2022, Freeze went 6-7 in his first season on the Plains and followed it up with a 5-7 season last year. He has brought in top-10 recruiting classes two years in a row, and has dominated in -state recruiting over rival Alabama.

 

With a revamped wide receiver room, Freeze and the Tigers are hoping to make significant improvements this season with transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold.

 

Kam Stutts returning to his alma mater, Peyton Cox headed to Mountain East Conference program

 

Across a five-year career at Auburn that spanned the COVID-19 pandemic, included three head coaches and plenty of ups and downs, Kam Stutts nonetheless found a way to become a team captain.

 

Part of Hugh Freeze’s inaugural 2023 Tigers squad, Stutts’s perseverance was something that resonated in the program and resulted in his captaincy that season after he had been a contributor and part-time starter in four previous seasons.

 

Now, the former Auburn starting right guard, is back at his alma mater in a coaching role.

 

Sources tell FootballScoop that Stutts is expected to be named Auburn’s offensive line quality control coach. He’ll work directly with Tigers offensive line coach Jake Thornton, who coached Stutts in 2023 after Hugh Freeze hired Thornton away from Ole Miss.

 

The impending move arrives as another Auburn staffer gets a chance to operate his own room.

 

Sources also share with FootballScoop that Peyton Cox is departing the Plains to become the new offensive line coach at Concord University, an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Mountain East Conference.

 

A former Ole Miss player and letterwinner, Cox had developed from Auburn’s offensive line graduate assistant into the full-time quality control role. He previously coached at FCS Northwestern State.

 

Set for its A-Day spring game April 12, Auburn starts Year 3 of the Freeze era next month when spring camp opens.

 

The Tigers open their 2025 season with a tough, non-conference road game Aug. 30 at Baylor.

 

Nearly 15 years after Cam Newton led Auburn to a national championship as the Heisman Trophy winner, the former college football great is drawing some mentions by fans for one reason.

 

Newton played a major role in bringing the Tigers their first national championship since 1957 when he took the reins at quarterback under Gene Chizik.

 

The former Florida transfer put together one of the best seasons in college football history, although some fans believe that has been forgotten. Fox Sports unveiled their top-10 Heisman trophy seasons of all-time, putting Travis Hunter at No. 3 and Newton at No. 4.

 

The top-10 Heisman Trophy seasons of all-time, per Fox Sports:

 

RB Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State (1998)

QB Joe Burrow, LSU (2019)

CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado (2024)

QB Cam Newton, Auburn (2010)

DB/WR Charles Woodson, Michigan (1997)

RB Tony Dorsett, Pitt (1976)

Former Auburn Tigers quarterback Cam Newton.

“If you think Travis hunter had a better season than 2010 Cam Newton you need to get your head checked,” a fan responded.

 

“Cam newton is #1 regardless of how much y’all dislike him,” one fan wrote. “He single handedly took a MEDIOCRE Auburn team to places they didn’t belong. LSU and the Bama game standout. No shade but burrow had a superstar offensive roster.”

 

“Cam Newton single handedly won a national title. Jameis Winston should be ahead of Manziel and (Travis) Hunter is not close to top 10,” one responded.

 

Newton’s blend of physicality and finesse couldn’t be stopped in 2010. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback passed for 2,854 yards with 30 passing touchdowns while adding 1,473 rushing yards with 20 rushing touchdowns.

 

He also propelled a team that won eight games the previous season to a 14-0 run and BCS national championship.

 

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.

Hunter’s 2024 campaign was vastly different. The wide receiver/cornerback stood out for his ability to produce while playing most of Colorado’s snaps during a 9-4 season.

 

Hunter led the Big 12 with 96 catches, finished second nationally in touchdown receptions with 15 and fourth nationally in receiving yards with 1,258.

 

Defensively, Hunter wasn’t thrown at much, but when he was, it didn’t usually work out well for the opposition. The AP Player of the Year finished second in the conference in pass breakups (11) with four interceptions and a forced fumble.

 

Both Newton and Hunter could make a case for why their Heisman Trophy seasons should stand out above the rest, though it seems that Newton’s run in 2010 has a leg up for college football fans.

 

“Cam Newton at the very least is above Travis Hunter. Hunter arguably could be left off this list,” another wrote.

 

“Only Burrow can rival Cam,” one added.

 

“Cam newton had the best single season of all time and I’ll die on that hill,” one wrote.

 

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter poses for a photo during a press conference before the 2024 Heisman Trophy Presentation.