Silver linings: Auburn gets to come back home.
That's the most positive thing to be said about Auburn's week in college basketball. It consisted of two road SEC slugfests, bookended by the Saturday night loss 92-84 at Mississippi State. Auburn's defeat marked the second road loss of the week and third loss in a row, putting its top-25 status in jeopardy.
Auburn led at times in the second half, but once again, the Tigers found themselves scrapping to stay in the game in the second half.
"It was a tough start. Four out of six on the road, Kentucky at home. Three games without Austin, and three-straight losses. There ain't a one of them that's going to be easy," Pearl said. "You know you take your chances when you come to Mississippi State. We've won twice in the last 15 times there. It's a tough place."
Playing from behind for most of the first half, Auburn drew close to even at halftime, trailing 47-45 at the break. A spirited second-half start by Chuma Okeke, who finished with xx points, actually put the Tigers in front by as much as seven in the early stages of the second half.
An onslaught of Mississippi State 3-pointers — made 13 from behind the arc — helped narrow that gap. Once the Bulldogs recovered the lead, they hardly relinquished it. In the final 15:28 of the game, Auburn only led for 36 seconds during the 9-minute mark.
Mississippi State's offensive explosion was too much to overcome on the road.
It wasn't for a few serviceable offensive performances on Auburn's side. The Tigers shot 52 percent from 3-point range. Bryce Brown shot 50 percent from the floor and led the team with 18 points. Okeke, Jared Harper and Anfernee McLemore joined Brown in double figures with 16, 15 and 10 points respectively.
The interior struggles Auburn faced in previous losses without Austin Wiley weren't as rampant in this loss. Auburn tied Mississippi State in the rebounding battle and in points in the paint. This loss had more to do with, as Pearl explained it, Auburn's entire roster — save Okeke and Brown — losing its battle on the defensive end.
"Bottom line: We just couldn't get enough stop. We did not defend. I've got to do some things schematically to change some things. Right now you look at the stats in the SEC, it's really high," Pearl said. "Bryce Brown and Chuma Okeke are two guys that keep their guys in front most of the time. But the rest of our team, that's a problem we have. When guys are able to penetrate, we have to rotate, and that's when they were getting dunks and 3s. We've got to defend better."
Auburn (13-6, 2-4 SEC) has endured a tough early-season stretch with a road-heavy schedule. The Tigers will now play three-straight games in Auburn Arena.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: The real player of the game was Mississippi State guard Quinndary Weatherspoon who posted a game-high 27 on 4-of-5 from 3 and 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. On the Auburn side, the nod could've been given to a few different guys, but Okeke takes it here. He showed more assertiveness than he has most of the season and filled the frontcourt scoring void with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Ultimately, it had no effect on the final outcome, but at the time it was a momentum changer — even if it came with its own compromises. Late in the first half, with Auburn needing a spark, Malik Dunbar deflected a pass a halfcourt and took it the distance. He jumped from outside the paint and finished with a one-handed dunk that energized Dunbar enough to stand and stare at the postered Mississippi State defender. That reaction earned Dunbar a technical foul. Still, the play gave Auburn a spark that inched the Tigers closer to make it more respectable at halftime.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: If you're looking for another silver lining, Auburn who has struggled consistently from the free-throw line all season went 21-of-23 from the charity stripe — that's 91 percent! — in a road loss.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: Bruce Pearl on the game — "To go on the road and shoot 53 perecent from the field and 52 from 3 and not come away with a win....man."
