No. 1 Auburn Tigers vs. No. 15 Mississippi State Preview, News, Notes, Key Players
Despite holding on to defeat South Carolina, 66-63, the now No. 1 Auburn Tigers still sit with more questions than answers heading into Tuesday’s game against No. 15 Mississippi State. Erasing a six-point halftime lead saw the team needing to dig deep and a potential devastating injury.
Johni Broome sat the final 13:45 of the game and is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
The uncertainty contains a two-pronged issue on the Plains. First, while Broome won’t need surgery, there’s no guarantee when he’ll return. Next, which Tiger steps up and provides not only an offensive spark but defensive and rebounding as well. Replacing the frontrunner for the national player of the year will be a tall task.
Now they welcome Mississippi State to Neville Arena at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network, looking to add another big win to their already impressive resume.
Starkville Surprise
Although the Bulldogs head into the SEC matchup smarting from 95-90 home loss to No. 6 Kentucky, Mississippi State wants to climb back into the driver's seat. While ranked No. 15, the Bulldogs are playing for a higher NCAA seeding.
That Kentucky loss aside, MSU plays good ball, winning eight of their last nine games, with wins against Memphis and Pitt, both firmly in the Top 25. One thing that jumps out at you is the startling amount of balance from Chris Jans' squad.
Nine Bulldogs play 15 minutes or more, giving MSU a deep bench that looks to withstand foul trouble. Furthermore, they don't give the ball away, tallying just 9.4 turnovers per game.
Ones to Watch
Mississippi State will enter the fray with two players that accomplish their goals in vastly different ways. Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard paces the team with 17 points per game. Additionally, the sophomore from Madison, Miss. also functions as the team's as best distributor, handing out 3.2 assists each contest.
Hubbard will take his time, pushing the pace as needed. Next, senior Cameron Matthews gives MSU a diverse skillset. Matthews may only average 8.7 points but recently, he began to break out. In his last five games, Matthews totals12 points and seven rebounds. What separates Matthews from many is his sticky-fingered approach to defense, leading the SEC with 2.8 steals a night.
Bottom Line
While sounding cold, the team cannot wait for Johni Broome to heal. With a brutal SEC schedule, Auburn needs to depend on others while their star recovers from an injury. The Tigers matchup well with Mississippi State, but the onus on the players to compete against a top-25 team.
The lone bright side? Broome's injury brings the need for others to up their games, in order to keep the wins flowing smoothly on the Plains. That experience will prove valuable come NCAA Tournament time once Broome returns.
#1/1 Auburn Tigers (15-1, 3-0 SEC) vs. #15/18 Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1 SEC)
January 14, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. (CT)
Neville Arena (9,121) | Auburn, Ala.
Television: SEC Network
Play-By-Play: John Schriffen
Color Analyst: Ron Slay
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
Play-By-Play: Andy Burcham
Color Analyst: Randall Dickey
» No. 1 Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC) hosts No. 15 Mississippi State (14-2, 2-1 SEC) on Tuesday night at Neville Arena – the Tigers’ only home game during a 21-day stretch in the month of January.
» After taking on the Bulldogs, Auburn plays its third SEC road game in 12 days when it treks to Georgia for a Saturday matinee game at Stegeman Coliseum.
» This is the third meeting between the Auburn and MSU in the Tigers’ last nine games versus SEC opponents dating back to last season.
» This is also Auburn’s first Quad 1 home game of the season. The Tigers (7-1) are tied with Oregon for the most Quad 1 wins in the country.
» Mississippi State will be the first ranked team to come into Neville Arena this season and since No. 22 Kentucky last season.
» For the second time in program history (both under head coach Bruce Pearl), the Tigers are the No. 1 team the country in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
» The Tigers previously spent three consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 from Jan. 24 to Feb. 13, 2022. This is their fourth week all-time.
» Auburn is 5-1 when ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll (beat Missouri and Georgia on the road and defeated Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas A&M at home during that stretch).
» Auburn, Alabama and Ole Miss are the only three remaining undefeated teams in SEC play. The Crimson Tide and Rebels play each other in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday.
» Home games versus Oklahoma and Arkansas are AU’s only two remaining games that are not currently projected to be Quad 1 games.
» Auburn is currently on an eight-game winning streak, which is tied for fourth-longest in the country with Alabama, Marist, Houston and Cleveland State.
» The Tigers lead the country in blocks per game (7.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.03).
» Auburn has sold out the last 62-straight home games at Neville Arena (9,121) and are 52-3 overall in the venue over the last four seasons: 2021-22 (16-0), 2022-23 (14-2), 2023-24 (15-1) and 2024-25 (7-0).
BULLDOG WATCH
» The Bulldogs are led by sophomore guard Josh Hubbard, who is averaging 17.0 points per game and has made 50 three-pointers on 37.3 percent shooting. He also second in the SEC in made 3-pointers and ranks third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at a 4.25/1 clip. Last year, Hubbard was on the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team.
» Mississippi State already has two Top 25 wins on the season: 90-57 vs. No. 18 Pitt (W, 90-57) and at No. 21 Memphis (W, 79-66).
» Prior to its 95-90 loss to No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday, MSU had won eight-straight games. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in true road games with wins at SMU, Memphis and Vanderbilt.
» MSU has five players averaging nine points or more per game. Joining Hubbard in double figures a game is senior guard Claudell Harris Jr. (11.2 ppg), redshirt junior forward KeShawn Murphy (9.8 ppg), junior guard Riley Kugel (9.6 ppg) and senior forward RJ Melendez (9.1 ppg).
» Graduate forward Cameron Matthews is first in the SEC and ninth nationally with 44 steals on the season. He is one of just three players nationally 6-foot-7 or taller in the Top 20 in steals.
» The Bulldogs also rank in the Top 10 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (7th, 1.81), steals per game (10th, 10.1 spg), and fewest turnovers (9th, 9.4 tpg).
INSIDE THE SERIES
» Auburn leads 83-71 in the all-time series with Mississippi State including 50-24 in Auburn and 7-1 at Neville Arena. Both teams split the regular-season series last season protecting their home courts.
» This is the third-ever matchup of ranked teams in the 155-game series history between Auburn and MSU. The Tigers have won eight of the last nine games in the series (not including a 2019 Auburn win that was vacated).
» Last season, Auburn won two of the three meetings against Mississippi State defeating the Bulldogs, 73-66, in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on its way to claiming the third tournament title in program history and second in the last six seasons.
» Ranked Auburn teams are 13-5 all-time against Mississippi State including 6-3 at home with the Tigers winning the last four matchups on The Plains when they are ranked. Auburn is 4-12 all-time against ranked Mississippi State teams including 3-2 when the game is played in Auburn.
» Head Coach Bruce Pearl is 14-6 versus the Bulldogs including 9-3 record during his time at Auburn. He is also 4-1 versus third-year head coach Chris Jans. The two head coaches met for the first time in the first round of the Midwest Region in the 2019 NCAA Tournament when Pearl’s Auburn Tigers defeated Jans’ New Mexico State Aggies 78-77 in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the way to the program’s first Final Four appearance.
» Over the last four seasons, Auburn has been ranked No. 1 for four weeks. Purdue (13), Houston (10) and Gonzaga (9).
» Additionally, Auburn (2) is one of four teams to be ranked No. 1 in at least two of the last four seasons next to Purdue (3), Kansas (2) and Houston (2).
» Tahaad Pettiford, a true freshman, has scored in double figures in all three SEC games this season averaging 11.7 points per game in league play, which is fourth best on the team.
» Pettiford poured in a team-high 15 points on 4-of-9 field goals, 2-of-5 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws to go with two rebounds and two assists against South Carolina. He made two key free throws with four seconds remaining in regulation to seal the victory in Columbia. Eight of his 15 points came in the second half.
» Pettiford recorded 10 points in just 17 minutes of action at Texas. He is currently second on the team in 3-pointers (32) and steals (15) as well as third in scoring (11.3 ppg) and assists (44).