Auburn holds on against State / Bruce and players presser

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Auburn Basketball

3 takeaways as Auburn holds on against Mississippi State, goes to SEC title game

Published: Mar. 16, 2024, 2:28 p.m.

Bruce Pearl holds his granddaughter up for the Auburn faithful after Tigers defeat South Carolina

By

Matt Cohen | mcohen@al.com

Auburn hasn’t often been tested like this in its wins, but in a 73-66 victory over Mississippi State in the SEC quarterfinals, Auburn did something it hasn’t done all year: win a close game.

Every Auburn win had been by double digits. Until Saturday.

And as a result, it will now head to the SEC championship game. Tipoff for the game is set for noon central time, and will be aired on ESPN.

Auburn now has a 26-7 overall record with the win. It’s the fifth Auburn season ever with 26 or more wins.

Head coach Bruce Pearl’s team will find out their opponent for the SEC championship game when Florida and Texas A&M play in the following game.

In a week full of upsets in Nashville, Auburn keeps surviving.

Here are three takeaways:

Boom or bust in the SEC Tournament for Auburn

Auburn will head to the SEC Championship game for the first time since 2019. That also was the last year Auburn won an SEC Tournament game at all before 2024.

Auburn lost its first game of the tournament in both 2022 and 2023. It didn’t play because of a self-imposed ban in 2021. There was no tournament in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So when Auburn wins, it wins a few. And it’s been the one team adverse to a week of upsets, thus far at least.

The Tigers went to bed last night as the top remaining seed. No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Alabama all lost on Friday while No. 4 Auburn beat No. 5 South Carolina by 31.

It will head to the title game tomorrow as a likely favorite over whoever wins between Florida and Texas A&M — albeit Texas A&M gave Auburn one of its toughest games at home this year and Florida routed Auburn in Gainesville.

Auburn’s only two SEC Tournament titles are in 2019 and 1985.

How was Auburn’s resume impacted?

Well, not much on its own.

This was a Quad 1 game for Auburn. Mississippi State is 32nd in the NET rankings as of Saturday morning.

Auburn got its second Quad 1 win of the year, moving to a 2-7 record against the top echelon of opponents.

It doesn’t change much in the eyes of Auburn’s generation perception since 2-7 is still not a great record against Quad 1, but getting a second Quad 1 win — and a possible chance to get another tomorrow — solidifies Auburn’s status with a little more than 24 hours before the March Madness bracket is revealed.

The neutral court win over Mississippi State joins the home win against Alabama as Auburn’s two Quad 1 wins.

Auburn is still going to be a projected No. 4 seed with the win. It’s the downside, so to speak, to Auburn not having the chance to get a second chance at Tennessee today. And with so many other upsets across the tournament, Auburn won’t get another shot at a national title-contending team tomorrow, either.

So while chances for Quad 1 wins are there, they may not be against teams with enough name recognition to boost Auburn up to a No. 3 seed.

Mississippi State shows why Auburn’s NCAA Tournament matchup matters

Few teams this season have given Auburn’s offense as much trouble as Mississippi State. Auburn’s fewest points in a game this season (58) came in a loss to the Bulldogs in Starkville. At Neville Arena, Auburn scored 78 points against Mississippi State — one of its smaller home outputs.

And in a very similar fashion to what Mississippi State did to beat top-seeded Tennessee on Friday, head coach Chris Jans’ team came out as the aggressor against Auburn and forced six Auburn turnovers in the first 13 possessions.

Auburn started shooting 1-6 from the field. Mississippi State completely dominated the glass in the first half, out-rebounding Auburn 22-10 overall and 12-3 in offensive rebounds.

But the Bulldogs couldn’t do that for 40 minutes. Auburn adjusted, and won the rebounding battle 19-15 in the second half.

But that type of style from Jans’ team at least in the first half has often been the one to beat Auburn. Mississippi State did it themselves. So did Florida.

Pearl said matchups matter when he beat South Carolina because that was a good matchup for Auburn. This is more indicative of why the bad matchups matter too.

And that could be something to pay attention to when Auburn gets its NCAA Tournament draw tomorrow. If Auburn runs into a double-digit seed like Samford without much size, that’s a more ideal matchup.

But if it finds itself against a team with size or physicality, that could be problematic. Whether that be a possible No. 5 seed like, say, San Diego State which plays excellent defense, or a double-digit seed that can match Auburn inside.

Certainly Auburn has proven it can win those games, and every

Edited March 16 by aubiefifty

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al.com

Rewinding: Auburn 73, Mississippi State 66 in SEC tournament

Updated: Mar. 16, 2024, 2:43 p.m.|Published: Mar. 16, 2024, 11:51 a.m.

7–9 minutes

Auburn is one win away from its first SEC basketball tournament championship since 2019.

The Tigers (26-7) beat Mississippi State 73-66 in a semifinal game Saturday in Nashville, with Chad Baker-Mazara leading five Auburn players in double-figures with 14 points. Josh Hubbard scored a game-high 20 points for the Bulldogs (21-13), who could not manage their third straight upset win in the tournament.

Read along below for updates from Saturday’s game in Nashville:

Pre-game

Starting lineups

Auburn

Aden Holloway, G

Denver Jones, G

Jaylin Williams, F

Johni Broome, F

Chad Baker-Mazara, F

Mississippi State

Dashawn Davis, G

Josh Hubbard, G

D.J. Jeffries, F

Tolu Smith, F

Cameron Matthews, F

First half

16:40 — Shaky start for Auburn. Tigers 1-for-6 shooting with 3 turnovers early. Mississippi State leads 9-2.

14:46 — Auburn trails 9-4 at the first media timeout. State’s Tolu Smith — who already has 4 rebounds — will go to the line for two after a foul by Johni Broome. Bulldogs controlling the action early as they did against Tennessee yesterday.

13:40 — Officials are reviewing to see if there might be a flagrant foul during a held ball situation. State’s Keshawn Murphy appeared to shove Chad Baker-Mazara.

It’s escalated to a dead ball contact technical foul on Murphy. Two foul shots and the ball for Auburn. State leads 12-6.

Baker-Mazara hits both and it’s 12-8. Might be the break Auburn needed.

12:44 — It’s getting chippy. Auburn’s K.D. Johnson and Mississippi State’s Deshawn Davis both issued technical fouls. State leads 17-12. Auburn has six turnovers and six made baskets.

10:48 — Mississippi State leads 17-15 at the U12 timeout. Auburn’s Chris Moore just nailed a 3-pointer to get the Tigers back in it after they trailed 15-8 at one point. That’s just the fifth made 3 for Moore in 22 attempts this season.

8:43 — Back-to-back baskets by Broome and Baker-Mazara give Auburn its first lead at 20-19. Tigers on an 11-5 run.

7:55 — Second foul on Johni Broome. He’ll go to the bench at the U8 media timeout, with Dylan Cardwell in for the Tigers. Auburn leads 20-19.

6:53 — Denver Jones with a 3 to put Auburn up 23-21. Back and forth game at this point. State has 7 offensive rebounds, three by Tulo Smith, who has largely had his way with Auburn’s Broome and Cardwell inside.

2:53 — Mississippi State leads 28-26 at the U4 media timeout. Jimmy Bell gave the Bulldogs the lead with a putback after two offensive rebounds. MSU dominating on the glass — 18-9 overall, 10-3 on offense. Auburn 0 for its last 4 and without a field goal in nearly 3 minutes.

1:18 — Still 28-26 State. Johni Broome back in for Auburn. State hasn’t been able to pull away due to sloppy offense. Bulldogs with 10 turnovers.

0:45 — Auburn’s Tre Donaldson ties it at 29-29 with a 3-pointer. Mississippi State calls timeout.

That was the Tigers’ first field goal since the 5:29 mark and snapped an 0-for-6 streak.

HALFTIME: Auburn’s Jaylin Williams with a driving layup just before the horn to tie it 31-31.

A very physical first half, but the Tigers battle back to tie it. Mississippi State with more offensive rebounds (12) than Auburn has total rebounds (10).

Second half

19:46 — Johni Broome gets the second half off to a good start with a 3-pointer. Tigers have hit three straight from 3 and lead 34-31.

17:24 — Jeffries scores State’s first bucket of the half to pull the Bulldogs within 36-33. MSU shooting 38%, so a good defensive effort from Auburn.

17:08 — More chippiness after an MSU foul. Jeffries appeared to shove Baker-Mazara after the whistle. They’re reviewing it for a potential technical.

Double technical on Jeffries and Baker-Mazara. Auburn gets the ball, but that’s Baker-Mazara’s third personal foul. He leads Auburn with 8 points.

By the way, ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes calls this the “most physical SEC game I’ve seen all year.”

16:59 — Denver Jones with a 3-point play to give Auburn its biggest lead at 39-33.

16:16 — Johni Broome leaves the game briefly. Trainer examining the area below his right eye. MSU’s D.J. Jeffries and Cameron Mathews just picked up their third fouls.

Broome back out there.

15:44 — Auburn leads 39-35 at the U16 media timeout.

14:01 — Donaldson hits 2 free throws. Tigers up 43-35 and starting to take control. Bulldogs haven’t scored in nearly 3 minutes.

13:42 — Auburn’s Jaylin Williams fouls MSU’s Davis on a 3-pointer, but he makes just 2 of 3 from the line. Bulldogs are just 10-for-18 on free throws, which is a stat to watch with the Tigers leading 43-37.

12:40 — This time, Davis fouls Auburn’s KD Johnson on a 3. He makes 2 of 3 and Auburn leads 45-38.

11:18 — Auburn leads 47-40 at the U12 timeout. Jaylin Williams slams home the assist by Broome. MSU’s Josh Hubbard, who scored 18 vs. Tennessee and 24 vs. LSU, has just five today.

Chad Baker-Mazara just picked up his fourth foul for Auburn, however. Was scrambling for a loose ball and drew the whistle.

9:10 — Auburn leads 50-44. Johni Broome with a big block on MSU’s Bell and Tigers get the rebound.

8:40 — Auburn 53, Mississippi State 47. Auburn’s Williams and State’s Hubbard trade 3-pointers.

7:00 — Chris Moore with an offensive board and putback to give Auburn a 55-47 lead.

5:56 — Broome dunks one home for Auburn, but State’s Shakeel Moore answers with a 3. Auburn leads 57-52.

4:54 — Back-to-back buckets by Josh Hubbard and State has cut it to one at 57-56. Auburn calls timeout. Hubbard heating up, now has 12. A 7-0 run and 4 straight made shots for the Bulldogs.

4:06 — Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell with a great sequence to put his team up 61-56. A dunk on offense, then a blocked 3-pointer on defense, then another dunk off the long pass from Jaylin Williams, who grabbed the rebound. Cardwell’s first four points of the game. State calls timeout.

2:30 — State’s Hubbard with two free throws, then a finger-roll bucket after a turnover. Bulldogs cut it to 63-60.

1:58 — Baker-Mazara with a massive 3 right as the shot clock expired to put Auburn up by six. But Hubbard is fouled and makes both, so Auburn’s lead is 66-62 with 1:35 to play.

1:35 — State awarded the ball after a review. Ball off Auburn’s Baker-Mazara out of bounds.

1:00 — State had two shots, but Auburn’s Williams gets the rebound. Bulldogs not fouling.

0:29 — State’s DJ Jeffries throws it away. Did he think the ref was a teammate? Auburn ball with a 4-point lead.

0:25 — Auburn’s Jaylin Williams hits both free throws. Tigers lead 68-62.

0:21 — Auburn fouls Hubbard rather than allow a 3-point attempt. He hits both free throws and it’s 68-64.

0:20 — Now Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara is fouled. He makes the first, but misses the second. Tigers lead 69-64.

0:10 — Mississippi State gets the ball out of bounds after a missed 3 by Hubbard. Officials reviewed, but upheld the original call. Bulldogs can’t get a clean inbounds attempt, so they call timeout. Auburn still up 5.

0:05 — State’s Tolu Smith dunks one home to make it 69-66. Auburn’s Jaylin Williams fouled. He makes both. It’s 71-66.

0:03 — Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara steals the ball. He’s then fouled and will go to the line. That should do it.

He makes both. Auburn wins it.

FINAL: Auburn 73, Mississippi State 66.

Tigers headed to the SEC tournament championship game vs. the Texas A&M-Florida winner at noon Saturday on ESPN.

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al.com

Against Mississippi State, Auburn proved it can win a close game, too

Published: Mar. 16, 2024, 4:22 p.m.

5–6 minutes

For a day or so, Chad Baker-Mazara’s teammates said he felt bad about the free throw he missed in late January in Tuscaloosa. There were 12 seconds left against Alabama. Had he made it, Auburn would have tied the game. But he missed, and Auburn lost.

Big shots like that don’t come around often. And Baker-Mazara had one then. There was no defense on that shot. The ball doesn’t often come back into your hands.

Nor do big shots come around often for an Auburn team that had each of its first 25 wins come by double-digits. The 26th would be its toughest.

Auburn has not played many close games this season. When the games have been close, Auburn lost every time.

But on Saturday in Nashville, with two minutes to play in one of those rare Auburn late-game moments rife with pressure, the ball had found its way back to Baker-Mazara.

“The holy grail,” center Dylan Cardwell said. “I knew if we made it we’d win the game.”

Cardwell stood up from the bench before Baker-Mazara even shot from the corner across the court. He knew. All of his teammates said the same thing: If Baker-Mazara was shooting, they had no doubt he would make it.

This time, Baker-Mazara did make the big shot and Auburn won, 73-66 Saturday over Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament semifinals — advancing to Sunday’s SEC championship game. It was Auburn’s first win this season by single-digits, the first time Auburn took an uppercut and responded back.

“Big cajones,” Cardwell said.

Cajones, it turns out, was a theme. Auburn needed them.

“My heart literally stopped for a second,” Baker-Mazara said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I gotta shoot this.’”

Just 52 days after Baker-Mazara missed the crucial free throw against Alabama, he said he was confident enough Saturday to know, “Ooh, this is going in,” right when he shot it.

But this was not just a big shot. This was the biggest shot of Auburn’s season so far. It was the dagger, point guard Aden Holloway said, that put Auburn in the championship game. It was the biggest shot for Baker-Mazara, well...

“Ever,” Cardwell said. “Yeah, ever. It takes special.”

Holloway passed Baker-Mazara the ball. Holloway said he initially thought he was going to take a step back 3-pointer himself. But he saw the defense was boxed in around him. So he gave up the ball in a play emblematic of Auburn’s depth. That everyone knew anyone could take the shot.

“I knew it was going in when it left his hand,” forward Chris Moore said.

It was the shot that capped maybe Auburn’s most physical game this year, but one that proved Auburn can be battle-tested, too. It was Auburn’s second Quad 1 win of the year. It was the first time Auburn had to make free throws in the final minute to close out a win.

But to reach that point, Auburn had to find something below their waists to respond to a gut punch.

Asked by ESPN after the game how Auburn came back from getting out-rebounded by 12 in the first half, forward Johni Broome said it was time for Auburn to “drop our nuts” in the second half.

“You heard what I said,” Broome said in the locker room. “I said what I said, and that’s what happened. We came to be more physical. They tried to punk you. Auburn basketball doesn’t get punked.”

Moore said Auburn’s halftime meeting was player-led. Auburn came back out of a 31-31 tie at halftime to win the second half 42-35 and actually out-rebound Mississippi State 19-15.

It was that seven-point margin that Auburn won by.

“They say all of our wins have been by double digits, we can’t win close games, and look where we are today,” Broome said. “So, what now?”

But Auburn has had several close losses: By six to Baylor, by five to Appalachian State, by four to Alabama, by eight to Mississippi State.

After those games, forward Jaylin Williams said Auburn would come in the locker room and use it as a point to learn. That at some point, Auburn would find a way to win one of those games.

It took until March 16. But Auburn learned.

“Out of all the times we lost by single digits all year, this is the time to win,” Williams said. “We win away, neutral site. We can do those things.”

And it’s the reason why Auburn will play for a trophy on Sunday. It’s the type of game that so many new faces came to Auburn to play. It’s the reason everyone on this team has stated for why they are willing to play into the deep rotation that has been a staple: they just want to win. That they truly, genuinely, see winning as more important than any personal stats.

It’s unique these days. It’s working.

“We just got one more game left to really make history,” forward Chaney Johnson said. “Cement ourselves as being one of the best teams to come through Auburn.”

Matt Cohen covers sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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