No. 15 Mississippi State gets dominated at top-ranked Auburn, 88-66
No. 15 Mississippi State was dominated from start to finish on Tuesday night as No. 1 Auburn rolled to an easy 88-66 victory. The Bulldogs dropped consecutive games for the first time this year and fell to 14-3 overall and 2-2 in the SEC.
Chad Baker-Mazara led Auburn (16-1, 4-0) with 20 points while Chaney Johnson added 17. Denver Jones and Miles Kelly each had 13 points for the Tigers while Tahaad Pettiford had 12 points.
“They were as good as advertised,” said head coach Chris Jans. “They jumped on us off the pace. They have size all over the court. They are very talented and they seem to have really good chemistry. With (Johnie) Broome out, they rallied around him and picked up the slack. They were ready to go.”
Josh Hubbard led Mississippi State with 17 points, highlighted by an 11 of 12 showing at the line. RJ Melendez had his first double-double of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Claudell Harris and KeShawn Murphy each had 11 points.
“I love RJ,” noted Jans. “He played really well in the second half and was still playing the game as if it was 0-0 and a close game. He was a big reason why we cut it to 13 (late in second half).”
Leading by 19 at halftime, Auburn built the lead to 26 points at one point in the second half. The Bulldogs did manage a late 15-2 run to get within 13 but the Tigers quickly answered with an 11-0 run to win going away.
For the game, State shot 35% from the field and made only 3 of 24 from 3 point territory. The Bulldogs were 19 of 27 at the foul line and had an SEC-high 16 turnovers. The Bulldogs did outrebound the Tigers, 42-30, and had 20 offensive rebounds.
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Auburn finished the night with 55% shooting and made 10 of 24 beyond the 3 point arc. The Tigers were 12 of 15 at the line and had 10 turnovers. Auburn also outscored State 22-10 in points off turnovers and had 10 blocked shots, including nine in the first half.
“The game was a little different in terms of how it was officiated in both halves,” Jans added. “But their physicality at the rim gave us fits in the first half. We just didn’t move the ball well enough to counteract their size and rim protection.”
Auburn’s dominance started right out of the gate as the Tigers scored the first 10 points of the game. Auburn maintained a double-digit lead for most of the first half and led 46-27 at halftime thanks to a Baker-Mazara 3 pointer to beat the first-half buzzer.
State shot just 29% in the opening half and made just 1 of 11 beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were 8 of 10 at the foul line, had eight turnovers in the half and outrebounded Auburn 20-15. Auburn was shot a sizzling 59% in the first half, including a 7 of 13 showing from 3 point range. The Tigers made 5 of 6 at the charity stripe and had five turnovers in the first half.
Up next
Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss 5 p.m. tipoff at Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday: The Bulldogs and Rebels meet for the first of two regular-season matchups.
