AUBURN | Auburn’s got plenty of size, probably the most in Bruce Pearl’s six years, but it doesn’t measure up to what the Tigers will face this weekend, at least on paper.

The 8th-ranked Tigers open up conference play at Mississippi State Saturday. The Bulldogs starting lineup includes 6-foot-7 forward Robert Woodard II, 6-foot-10 forward Reggie Perry and 6-foot-11 center Abdul Ado.

“This is the best offensive rebounding team in the country,” Pearl said. “They’ve got three of the top five offensive rebounders in our league. This is the second-biggest team in the country. Ado, Perry and Woodard starting at the 3, 4 and 5 — they’re monster men. I’m sure their football program is trying to recruit those guys to get on that defensive line.”

Perry leads MSU averaging 15.4 points and an SEC-best 9.8 rebounds. Woodard adds 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds while Ado averages 5.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. MSU leads the SEC with a +7.9 rebounding margin.

The Bulldog backcourt is also explosive with senior Tyson Carter averaging 15.4 points and junior Nick Weatherspoon 9.0 points.

“Offensively, Ben Howland does a great job,” Pearl said. “They run really good stuff. It’s put together well with the combination of the things they do on the inside with their bigs and the way they run the stuff with their guards.

“Carter is one of the most improved players in our league. He almost single-handedly beat us last year in here. Great 3-point shooter. They win when he scores. Perry was a first-team all-conference player, could of come out last year. Would have been drafted but came back. Great kid, great family and just a really, really tough cover for us at the 4 spot.”

Auburn comes into the matchup 12-0 and one of two undefeated teams in the country. Mississippi State is 9-3 but holds a 15-2 record over Auburn in the last 17 games at Humphrey Coliseum.

“These are opportunity games,” Pearl said. “Mississippi State is going to win most of their games at home in the SEC. They are. There’s only a handful of teams that are capable of beating them or that could beat them there. These are the kinds of games that give you one-up on the league if you can get them. But for us to get this game, we’re going to have to play our best game so far.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.