Mississippi State grabs 'must win' over No. 8 Auburn 64-58

Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans never wants to tell his players that this game or that game is a ‘must win’, mainly to not put any added pressure on his players’ minds. But before Saturday’s huge game with Top 10 ranked Auburn at Humphrey Coliseum, Jans did sent a text message to his family that simply read “must win. period.”

And the Bulldogs did just that. Josh Hubbard scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Cameron Matthews had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Mississippi State beat No. 8 Auburn 64-58 on Saturday.

DJ Jeffries made three of four free throws in the final 11 seconds and grabbed 12 rebounds to help seal the win for Mississippi State (14-6, 3-4 SEC). Shakeel Moore scored 12 points and Tolu Smith added nine points and eight rebounds.

Johni Broome scored 14 points and Jaylin Williams added 10 to lead Auburn (16-4, 5-2).

“I sent a text message to my family but I didn’t show anybody else the message,” said Jans. “It was a must win because of the obvious. This is a good Quad 1 win because of how high they are ranked in the NET. I am sure they are going to hang around in that vicinity all year long like Tennessee will. They are like super Quad 1 wins because of how solid their numbers are.

“But it was huge and we had to have it. I didn’t really say those words but the team knew what was at stake when we talked about how important it was to be at home.”

Following a tough road loss to Florida earlier this week, Jans opted to change up his normal practice routine later in the week. And it appeared to pay dividends for the Bulldogs on Saturday.

“We didn’t hardly practice on Thursday,” added Jans. “We just felt like we were going to try to ease up a little bit and Friday wasn’t quite as long with as much physicality segments to it. We tried to sell them on being fresher for the game. I don’t know if it helped or not but I felt like we played the way we have to play to win the game.”

It was Hubbard’s first start of the season and the first start of his collegiate career. He was 7 of 16 from the field and added three rebounds and is currently the leading freshman scorer in the SEC at 14.9 points a game.

“Not really,” said Hubbard about feeling different with his first career start. “Coach Jans always tells us the starting lineups are just the starters for the game. We have great depth and we know a lot of people on our team are going to play. Only difference is I am getting my name called first. So I still had that same mentality and nothing is going to change as far as my mindset or anything like that.”

Tied at halftime, Auburn trailed for much of the second half until a Tre Donaldson three-point play gave the Tigers a 46-45 advantage with 7:51 remaining in regulation. But that would be the last lead of the day for Auburn.

Matthews rebounded his own missed free throw and scored to give State a 53-49 lead with 3:50 left in the second half. Auburn cut the lead to 55-54 only to see a Hubbard 3 pointer stretch the lead to 58-54 with 1:37 left. The Bulldogs then made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 32.6 seconds to secure the victory.

“It felt good,” said Moore. “Coach talked about certain teams having our number last season. It was at home this year and we had to get it because it was a Quad 1 win for us. The way we prepared, the way we practiced, it was a must win, for sure. Looking ahead to our next competition, we have to do the same thing and play the same way.”

For the game, Auburn was held to 34% shooting and the Tigers made just 6 of 24 from 3 point range. Auburn was 14 of 16 at the foul line and had 14 turnovers.

Mississippi State shot 44% for the day and made just 9 of 18 at the foul line. The Bulldogs had 14 turnovers and outrebounded the Tigers 45-30, including 14 offensive boards.

“Mississippi State played great defense the whole game,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “We played good defense in the first half but in the second half, while we were better offensively, we just let them get so many second-chance points. I thought we did a good job of defending Tolu Smith. If you had told me we would come here and we could hold Tolu to just six shots, I would tell you we have a fighting chance. And we did.”

The teams were locked in a defensive struggle in the first half. Mississippi State took a 15-10 lead on a dunk by Matthews with 7:57 left in the half. Neither team scored in the final 2:45 and they entered halftime tied at 21-all.

Auburn shot 28% in the first half and made just 2 of 10 shots from beyond arc. Mississippi State shot 32% in the first half and made just 1 of 12 attempts from long distance. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Tigers 27-14, including 11 offensive boards.

Mississippi State must now hit the road for a pair of challenging trips. The Bulldogs play at rival Ole Miss on Tuesday before traveling to Alabama on Saturday.