Following a close loss on the road that ended its winning run in Tuscaloosa, Auburn basketball wants to bounce back in the win column as it approaches the middle third of its SEC season.
The Tigers on the road again, this time to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Mississippi. Auburn is on a five-game winning streak in this series, having won the last two meetings at Humphrey Coliseum.
The orange and blue enter the contest with a 16-3 (5-1) record, having lost 79-75 to archrival Alabama on Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum. Despite a strong second-half comeback after trailing by 14, the Tigers were unable to win due to nine first-half turnovers and a lack of 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are looking to rebound from their own setback to Florida, 79-70, on Wednesday. They enter with a 13-6 (2-4) record, ranking eleventh in the SEC.
Mississippi State, on the other hand, will not go into this game blindly, since it has been in similar situations before. The last time it faced a top-10 team following a loss, it beat No. 5 Tennessee at home earlier this month.
Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl is aware that his team will face difficult challenges.
“This one’s a hard sell out, and I’ve not been to Starkville where the game has been sold out,” Pearl went on to say. “So it has to do with our ranking. It also has a lot to do with their team, which is very veteran, one of the oldest teams in college basketball, and has postseason hopes.”
Trailing by nine at halftime, the Bulldogs struggled to find a rhythm in their shooting, hitting only 38.7% from the field and 24.2% from beyond the arc on the night. Despite matching the Gators shot for shot in the second half, Mississippi State never regained the lead after losing it midway through the first half.
The Bulldogs come into the game averaging 74.7 points per game, putting them 171st in the country for scoring offence. Because Auburn’s offence averages 83.3 points per game, Mississippi State must rely on its defence to keep the Tigers in check, as it only allows 66.4 points on average.
“Mississippi State is one of the best defensive teams in our league, therefore one of the better defensive teams in the country,” stated Pearl. “Their three-point field goal percentage defence is excellent. They exerted significant pressure on the ball.”
Mississippi State is similarly aggressive on defence, which presents a challenge to Auburn’s offence following the Alabama game. The Bulldogs presently average 8.4 steals per game, good for third in the conference. Auburn must continue to play smartly and confidently, as it has for the most of the season.
The Auburn defence has also been dangerous to opponents this season, which is why the Tigers are one of the most difficult teams to play against. The Tigers are second in the league and 48th nationally in scoring defence, allowing only 66 points per game.
They also have one of the best centres in the SEC, Johni Broome, who is second in blocks and rebounds per game. Auburn must use him as it has throughout the season to get an advantage over Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith, who is a menace inside.
“Tolu Smith is a dominating inside player,” Pearl stated. “He and Johni Broome are two of the SEC’s top players, and as is customary in these matches, it’s not Tolu vs Johni. It’s Auburn-Mississippi State, but just giving both of those players some credit.”
As the Tigers aim to rebound from their loss, they will also test if they can maintain their dominance with lineup depth, which they struggled with on Wednesday.
The 147th game between the Tigers and the Bulldogs will take place at Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2:30 p.m. CST. The game will air on the SEC Network.
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