Tigers fall at Mississippi State, finish 13th
STARKVILLE, Miss. | Bruce Pearl tells his team frequently, multiple times per day, that it must move the ball effectively on the scoring end to enjoy any kind of success.
Yet the Tigers' head coach isn't making much headway.
Auburn lost its way during a dreadful 15-minute period of the first half at Mississippi State Saturday, settling for poor shots and falling behind by 19 points at the intermission. Better ball movement spawned better basketball for the visitors during the second half, but 19-point deficits are difficult to overcome.
This one was as well. Mississippi State won, 79-66.
"Great start. We were prepared," Pearl said. "Then we got real stagnant for no reason. That first-half offense cost us the game."
The loss assured Auburn of a 13th-place finish in the 14-team conference for the second consecutive season. It will play No. 12 seed Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference tournament Wednesday night.
The Tigers were hopeful of a better finish going into Saturday's game -- and were encouraged by opening the game on an 8-0 run. Yet MSU dominated the next 15 minutes of the game and responded with a 32-8 run of its own to demoralize the Tigers.
How did that happen? Junior TJ Dunans, repurposed as a point guard after Kareem Canty's departure, picked up two early fouls and was relegated to the bench. That change eliminated the Tigers' cunning on the scoring end and wrecked the visitors' chances entirely.
Auburn used some unusual tactics to plot a second-half comeback; eschewing the perimeter shooting upon which it typically relies and instead choosing to attack the basket. The plan worked. Tyler Harris and Horace Spencer were able to create better opportunities closer to the basket and the commotion left shooters in better position along the perimeter.
The Tigers whittled MSU's lead down to nine points with 12 minutes remaining. Yet MSU scored on four of its next five possessions to increase the differential. Auburn cut its deficit back down to 10 points a few moments later, but a technical foul against Dunans sent him to the bench once again and paved the way for MSU to build a 14-0 run.
That ended the visitors' threat entirely.
"We didn’t get each other better until the second half," Pearl said. "Then it was pretty basketball. I thought this was one we were good enough to get. We just didn’t play well enough together offensively."
Auburn wiped away some poor regular-season memories last season by winning three games in the conference tournament. It's hoping to spark a similar renaissance Wednesday night in Nashville, but the Tigers lost by 36 points when it played at Tennessee last month.
This won't be easy.
"Just because we won last year … it’s a different team, different chemistry and matchups," Pearl said.