Rapid reaction: No. 11 Auburn controls Mississippi State from start to finish

AUBURN -- Bruce Pearl wondered how his team would react after losing at Tennessee on Wednesday night. He wondered if they'd have the energy and effort to produce at a high level, knowing the SEC title race was all but over for them. It didn't take long to find out the answer. The Tigers scored 21 seconds in, led by double digits seven-plus minutes in and never looked back. Auburn led every second of a 78-63 victory on Saturday afternoon inside an impressive spring break crowd inside Neville Arena. Auburn improves to 22-7 overall and 11-5 in SEC play. Mississippi State drops to 19-10 overall and 8-8 in SEC play. The win keeps the Tigers firmly in the hunt to be a Top-4 seed in the SEC Tournament, and will be a quality win as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned. It's the Tigers' fourth straight win over Mississippi State at home and seventh win in the last eight games played in the series. And of Auburn's 22 wins this season, all have come by double digits. Remarkable, really. Stats, plus rapid reaction inside...