With a 79-61 triumph over 13th-seeded Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena, 12th-seeded Auburn lives to fight another day.
Auburn holds a 4-2 record against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament. The last win (before Tuesday) over the Bulldogs in the Tournament was in 2024 – the last time Auburn cut the nets down in Nashville.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Tigers keep it close at the half
KeShawn Murphy set out to send a message to his former team in the opening minutes, scoring the Tigers' first seven points to give them a quick 7-2 lead.
After burying triple, Murphy received a technical for jawing at his former bench, giving him two fouls minutes before the under-16 timeout and a lengthy duration on the bench.
After starting 6-of-9 from the floor to begin the contest, Auburn endured a cold stretch as it shot a 36% clip from the field in the first stanza. The Tigers, nearing the under-4 timeout, had missed 11 of their last 13 shots and five of the eight free throws they had attempted.
Auburn only forced two turnovers, gave up 10-second chance points, and was outscored 18-6 in the paint, but was down just three at the break (33-30), giving it a chance to make some noise in the second stanza.
Kevin Overton leads second-half surge
It seemed a nightmarish start to the second half was on its way for Auburn after State’s Jayden Epps netted a fastbreak trey for a quick 5-0 burst out of the break, giving the Bulldogs a 38-30 lead.
Auburn then responded with an 8-0 run of its own and extended that into a 26-6 run with just under 10 minutes remaining as Kevin Overton led the charge with four triples before the 13-minute mark.
Auburn extended its lead to 12 before Mississippi State punched back and trimmed its deficit to three after a 9-0 answer.
But Auburn never shied away, closing the game on a 14-2 run.
Overton continues his consistent scoring
Despite dropping eight of its last 10 heading into the tournament, Auburn found a reliable third scorer in Overton, who has poured in 20-plus points in four of his last five games.
One of a few players on the Auburn roster who has experience playing in March, Overton tallied 22 points to lead all Auburn scorers and connected on six triples - five in the second half.
Wednesday marked his eighth 20-point game of the season, as he has scored in double figures 23 times this year and on seven straight.
Simply put, he’s playing his best brand of basketball when it matters most.
Auburn loses battle down low
After giving up a whopping 58 points in the paint in the regular season finale against Alabama, the Tigers were still outplayed down low – an area of concern, considering Auburn takes on a big, physical Tennessee squad on Thursday.
The Bulldogs recorded a 32-22 advantage down low with 18 points off layups and a 62% clip from 2-point range.
Auburn still outrebounded State 43-39, with Elyjah Freeman and Murphy hauling in 10 and nine boards, respectively.
But, again, Auburn will need to play a much more physical brand of basketball in hopes of reaching the quarterfinals – and playing its way off the bubble.
Auburn will play fifth-seeded Tennessee on Thursday, with the winner of that contest advancing to the quarterfinals to play No. 4, Vanderbilt.
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