Projection and game notes: No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 15 Mississippi State

AUBURN -- Is Auburn really the No. 1 team in college basketball? The answer to that is subjective at this point, but it doesn't really matter. As Bruce Pearl said, earning the No. 1 ranking matters because it's history, but landing up at No. 1 at season's end is the ultimate goal. The Tigers earned the ranking by defeating seven Quad I opponents, having four ranked wins over non-conference teams, including two current Top 10 teams. For the second time in program history (both under 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. How long Auburn can maintain that top spot in the polls remains to be seen, especially given All-American Johni Broome will be sitting the bench for the next couple of games at least. 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. Following two road games at Texas and South Carolina, the Tigers play at home, then go back on the road for a game at Georgia on Saturday, before taking the week off and preparing to host Tennessee on January 25. 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). Projection, stats and game notes inside.