STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 8 Auburn Tigers (16-4, 5-2 SEC) fell 64-58 to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at Humphrey Coliseum this afternoon.
"Mississippi State played great defense all game," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We played pretty good defense in the first half, but in the second half, while we were better offensively, we just let them (Mississippi State) get so many second-chance points."
What are the biggest takeaways from the game?
Auburn got crushed on the glass
Mississippi State out-rebounded Auburn 45-29. There was a 14-6 difference on the offensive side and a 31-23 difference on the defensive side.
Auburn was not remotely competitive for a lot of rebounds, and that ended up making a big difference.
Auburn needs to avoid having another performance like this on the boards.
Auburn's second-half decision-making was questionable
After only turning the ball over twice in the first half, Auburn had nine turnovers in the second half.
Auburn also committed a lot of fouls that it could have done without.
Mississippi State capitalized on Auburn's mistakes and was able to come out on top because of them.
Auburn could not defend in the paint without fouling
It seemed as if the only way Auburn could stop Mississippi State from scoring down low was to commit a foul.
Auburn finished with 16 fouls to Mississippi State’s 13. A majority of Auburn’s fouls occurred in the paint.
Auburn has played well defensively this season, but this game was a step in the wrong direction.
Auburn fell apart at the end of the game
Denver Jones hit a 3-pointer with 2:52 left in the game to bring Auburn within one, but the Tigers did not make another field goal after that until Johni Broome made a lay-up with 0:11 to play.
Auburn allowed Mississippi State to go on a 9-4 run after that 3-pointer from Jones, which secured the win for the Bulldogs.
Auburn will be back in action on Wednesday night when it hosts the Vanderbilt Commodores at Neville Arena at 8 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on ESPN2, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics App.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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