After clawing back from an 18-point deficit, Auburn briefly held a lead, but the Tigers couldn’t finish as they dropped their fifth straight game to Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night 91-85.
With the loss, Auburn fell to 14-12 overall and 5-7 in league play. The loss marked Mississippi State’s second consecutive win over Auburn on its home floor, despite the Tigers winning 10 of the last 13.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Two words: Josh. Hubbard.
There was one glaring difference in the outcome on Wednesday night. Mississippi State had Josh Hubbard, and Auburn did not.
The SEC’s leading scorer outscored the Tigers by himself in the first 20 minutes with a whopping 35 points and nine triples, which tied a program record for the most threes in a game – and many of them were contested. It was the most points in a half for any player in college basketball this season, and per Jeff Borzello of ESPN, it was the most since Luka Garza scored 36 in 2020.
After scoring 32 in his last outing against Ole Miss – which was his second consecutive 30-point game – Hubbard finished Wednesday night’s affair with 46 points, marking a new career high.
Auburn certainly could have defended him better, and did in the second half, but a tip of the cap to Hubbard for a generational performance.
Another rough start for Auburn
In Auburn’s five-game skid – except for the Alabama game – it has dug itself in deep holes in the early goings.
It did the same on Wednesday night.
Of course, much of it was due to Hubbard’s heroics, but Auburn faced a double-digit deficit before the 10-minute mark in the first half, as Keyshawn Hall scored the Tigers’ first eight points. Tahaad Pettiford finally broke that streak with a bucket at the 10:38 mark.
Auburn fought back with a 12-3 run to cut a 15-point lead to single digits as Hall worked his way up to 16 first-half points, but Mississippi State punched back with a 7-1 run, riding a 16-point lead into the break.
Tigers rally back but come up short
After Hubbard’s first-half performance, Auburn found a way to limit the prolific scorer in the second half.
Hubbard only notched 11 second-half points, and only two of them came from the field.
As a result, Auburn – which faced an 18-point deficit with over 18 minutes remaining – rallied back to take a lead down the stretch and mount an incredible comeback. The Tigers outscored Mississippi State 52-42 in the second half behind an 40% clip from the floor and seven triples.
But the Bulldogs ended the game with a 14-3 run over the last minute and some change as Hubbard delivered the dagger with a fastbreak triple with 52 seconds remaining.
Hall returns; Pettiford & Overton provide some offense
After sitting out the Tigers’ loss to Arkansas last weekend for disciplinary reasons, Auburn got its leading scorer in Hall back – and it needed him in a big way.
No, Auburn did not win, but the Tigers’ offense would have been in dire trouble without him. Hall notched his 15th 20-point game of the season with 29 points, four 3-pointers and a 9-of-11 mark from the charity stripe.
Tahaad Pettiford recorded his fourth consecutive 20-point game as he finished with 21 points – 16 in the first half. Kevin Overton poured in 11 of his 15 points in the second stanza with four triples.
Auburn will return home for a Saturday night tilt against Kentucky. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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