No. 8 Auburn goes cold, is up to unranked MSU

Jan 27, 2024, 06:56 PM ET STARKVILLE, Miss.– Josh Hubbard scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Cameron Matthews had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Mississippi State beat No. 8 Auburn 64-58 on Saturday.D.J.

Jeffries made 3 of 4 totally free tosses in the final 11 seconds and grabbed 12 rebounds to assist seal the win for Mississippi State (14-6, 3-4 SEC). Shakeel Moore scored 12 points and Tolu Smith included 9 points and eight rebounds.Saturday’s win was the Bulldogs’second over a top-10 team, after beating Tennessee earlier in the season. It’s the very first time they have beat several top-10 teams in a season considering that 2001-02, according to ESPN Stats & Info research.It’s also the fifth win by an unranked SEC group against an

AP top-10 challenger in conference play this season, tied for the 2nd most in the SEC over the past 15 seasons, according to ESPN Statistics & Information.Editor’s Picks Johni Broome scored 14 points and Jaylin Williams added 10 to lead Auburn(16-4, 5-2).”We didn’t barely practice on Thursday,”Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans said.”We simply seemed like we were going to try to ease up a

bit and Friday wasn’t quite as long with as much physicality segments to it. We tried to sell them on being fresher for the game. I do not understand if it assisted or not, but I seemed like we played the method we have to play to win the game. “It was Hubbard’s very first start of the season and the first start of his college career. He was 7-of-16 from the field and added 3 rebounds. He is presently the leading freshman scorer in the SEC at 14.9 points a game.Hubbard said his technique didn’t actually alter in his very first profession start.”Coach Jans always tells us the starting lineups are simply the beginners for the game,” he stated.

“We have fantastic depth and we know a lot of people on our team are going to play. Only distinction is, I am getting my name called first. So I still had that very same mentality and nothing is going to change as far as my mindset or anything like that. “Connected at halftime, Auburn routed for much of the second half up until a Tre Donaldson three-point play gave the Tigers a 46-45 benefit with 7:51 remaining. But that would be the last lead of the game for Auburn.Matthews rebounded his missed out on free toss

and scored to offer Mississippi State a 53-49 lead with 3:50 left in the 2nd half. Auburn cut the cause 55-54, just to see a Hubbard 3-pointer stretch the lead to 58-54 with 1:37 left. The Bulldogs then made 5 of six free throws

in the last 32.6 seconds to secure the victory.For the game, Auburn was held to 34 %shooting from the field, including 25%( 6 of 24 )from 3-point range. Auburn was 14-of-16 at the foul line and had 14 turnovers.After a 5-0 start in the SEC and an appearance in the top-10 rankings, Auburn has actually dropped 2 straight in league play. The Tigers lost at rival Alabama on Wednesday.”Mississippi State played terrific defense the whole game,”Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played great defense in the first half, however in the second half, while we were better offensively, we just let them get many second-chance points. I believed we did an excellent job of protecting Tolu Smith. If you had told me we would come here and we could hold Tolu to simply 6 shots, I would inform you we have a battling opportunity. And we did.”Mississippi State shot 44%for the game and went simply 9-of-18 at the nasty line. The Bulldogs had 14 turnovers and outrebounded the Tigers 45-30, consisting of 14 offensive boards.The groups were locked in a defensive struggle in the first half. Mississippi State took a 15-10 lead on a dunk by Matthews with 7:57 left in the half. Neither team scored in the last 2:45 and they got in halftime tied 21-21. Auburn shot 28%in the first half and went 2-of-10 on 3-pointers. Mississippi State shot 32 %in the first half and was 1-of-12 on 3’s. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Tigers 27-14, including 11 offensive boards.The Associated Press contributed to this report.