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Mississippi State

Cameron Matthews praises teammates for win against Auburn

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•01/27/24•

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Matthews
Dec 3, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Cameron Matthews (4) dunks during the second half against the Southern Jaguars at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time this season, Mississippi State has taken down a top-10 team. Auburn came to Starkville in hopes of getting back to winning ways following a loss to Alabama on Wednesday. Instead, Chris Jans’ team was able to add a key win to the resume and send most people inside Humphrey Coliseum home happy.

Cameron Matthews played a huge role for the Bulldogs, recording a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He spoke with Pat Bradley of the SEC Network following the game, saying Mississippi State was just looking to get back to their main identity.

“Just getting their plays down,” Matthews said on the team’s preparation. “Just trying to find our identity, getting back to what we’re used to. Just a really hard win. Really gritty rebounding team. That’s what we came and did here today.”

Being physical and controlling the glass is a difficult task against Auburn but it’s the type of basketball Mississippi State wants to play. Matthews was key there but in total, it was a 15 board advantage for the home team. Something Mississippi State can be proud of as they continue to grow throughout the season.

“Just having athletes on our team,” Matthews said. “Top to bottom, we’re a really great team. I really got a lot of faith in them and we really practice hard every day. We got the most faith in each other.”

Now sitting at 14-6 overall and 3-4 against SEC competition, Mississippi State just earned its third Quad 1 win of the season. There will be more opportunities down the stretch as well but Jans is putting together a nice resume for the month of March.

Matthews believes these types of wins will help down the stretch, being a nice reminder of what they are capable of. If Mississippi State can play at that level against Auburn, they can hang with anybody in the SEC and eventually in the postseason.

“Going into February and March with Quad 1 wins,” Matthews said. “Auburn is going to be a really good team all year long. That’s going to stick with us.”

As for Auburn, head coach Bruce Pearl will have to get back to the drawing board. Two straight losses will mean questions are heading his way, even if they came on the road. Getting back on the right track is possible, with Vanderbilt coming to Neville Arena on Wednesday night.