Bruce Pearl 'can't be anything but impressed' in win over Mississippi State

The Auburn Tigers know there is a target on their backs in SEC play as they sit atop the conference standings. That means playing to a high standard every night out, which head coach Bruce Pearl knows is a unique challenge.

Most recently, Auburn took down a ranked Mississippi State team at home on Tuesday night. After the game, Pearl praised his team, sharing just how impressed he is with everything from the fans to the players, to the assistant coaches.

“You can’t be anything but impressed,” Pearl said. “You just can’t. First of all, the crowd was amazing. We set a record tonight — the most students we’ve ever had in Neville Arena. Welcome back to campus, welcome back to school. We did what we could while our students were gone. We felt the energy in the building, our guys felt the energy in the building. Hearing Chaney [Johnson] get introduced with the starters and the way the crowd and the students received him. I thought it was awesome.”

Auburn ended up beating Mississippi State by a score of 88-66. That was with Mississippi State shooting only 34.9% from the field and turning the ball over 16 times. It was the fewest points the Bulldogs have scored since the middle of December, a month earlier. For Pearl, it was that defensive effort and game plan that helped his Auburn team thrive.

“Our first-shot defense was elite tonight. Our coaching staff — Corey Williams, Chad Prewett had the scout. Mike [Burgomaster] and Steven [Pearl] had the defense. I thought they did a really, really good job…But more than anything, Chaney and Dylan [Cardwell], their ability to stay down, be second off the floor, blocked all those shots. Just really worked hard at defending without fouling. That was the difference in the game,” Pearl said.

“Once again — you guys are going to start keeping track of this — look at the matchup Denver Jones has. [Josh] Hubbard is as good as there is in this league. And this is the second time now — SEC Tournament, now here — and Denver was locked on him pretty good, and once again did an outstanding job.”

On the offensive end of the floor, Auburn made 55% of its shots. The Tigers also had five players who scored in double-digits. That includes a double-double from Miles Kelly and a game-high 20 points from Chad Baker-Mazara.

“Lots of contributions. Miles Kelly and Chaney Johnson were plus-35. Miles Kelly having eight defensive rebounds — that was one of the best offenses for Mississippi State being ‘just go get it.’ His length and the reason why he can play in the NBA is because he is that 3-and-D guy,” Pearl said. “Now you add the rebounding. So really good, really good. This is Miles back-to-back-to-back now, putting a few great games together.”

Bruce Pearl will need his Tigers to continue to play well moving forward. That continues on Saturday with a tricky road trip to Georgia.