Bruce Pearl addresses physical nature of Mississippi State game, limiting Josh Hubbard

Auburn and Mississippi State aren’t playing the prettiest basketball in Nashville, but they sure are fighting as the Tigers hold the advantage as the second half winds down.

MSU got out to the early lead but the contest has been fairly even throughout with Auburn slowly strengthening their grip on the game as it goes on. With 10 minutes to play in the first of two SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, ESPN’s Marty Smith caught up with Auburn coach Bruce Pearl to discuss the strong run of play from his team in the last 20+ game minutes.

He explained that it’s a hard fought game where his kids are battling.

“It’s hard. Both teams want it really badly. It’s physical to a fault, it’s an impossible game to officiate. Kids are playing hard, playing the game the right way.”

For Mississippi State, they’re lacking the boost of freshman star Josh Hubbard, normally the team’s leading scorer but only had five points through 30 minutes of action vs. the Tigers.

“Our guards have done a good job on him, taking away the three-ball,” said Pearl. “And you got to guard him as an entire team and our guys are doing a good job.”

Less than a minute after Pearl hopped off the microphone, though, Hubbard splashed a 3-point shot from well below the arc to give the ‘Dogs some momentum. As he noted, you got to always have an eye on him.

Lastly, before going back to the sideline, Pearl issued his wishes for the team’s performance the rest of the way.

“Just got to continue to stay on the boards. I say we get the tempo picked up a little bit.”

Pearl comments at half

Tiger forward Jaylin Williams‘ layup at the buzzer to end the first half vs. Mississippi State knotted the game at 31, giving Auburn the momentum heading into halftime. Head coach Bruce Pearl explained why this bucket was so important for the Tigers heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation — and how Auburn can further its defensive pressure in the second half.

“Offense ain’t easy in the SEC, man,” Pearl told SEC Network’s Marty Smith before heading into the locker room. “Two really physical teams, two teams playing really, really hard defensively. I never thought it would get past 30 [points]. … We’ve got to do a better job to execute, a better job of screening. We’ve got to do a better job of keeping them off the offensive boards and not just checking off, but going to pursue those 50-50 balls.”

Despite the Bulldogs’ best efforts, Auburn is shooting 50 percent (12 of 24) from the floor, but 30 percent (3 of 10) from deep. The Tigers were out-rebounded 22-10 in the first half, so if those shots weren’t falling — Auburn might be in trouble right now.