STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Auburn Tigers suffered their largest margin of defeat this Thursday night when the Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 96-56, handing Auburn its seventh loss in its last eight games.
Auburn was coming off its first SEC win of the season before suffering the 40-point loss on Thursday. The Tigers kept things competitive in the early going, only trailing by two at the end of the first period, but were outscored 33-4 in the second quarter as the game quickly got out of hand. The 96 points scored by the Bulldogs were the most Auburn has allowed all season, as the Bulldogs shot an excellent 62 percent from the field while Auburn shot a season-low 34 percent.
“[The second] quarter I thought we just took some quick shots,” Auburn associate head coach Fred Williams said. “Got on our heels defensively…and they just got on a roll right there. They built a lead on us. We obviously dug a hole and were trying to climb out of it.”
Mississippi State had five players reach double figures in this one, with Jerkaila Jordan and Eniya Russell each recording 15 points to lead the way for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were also able to out rebound the Tigers 44-23, with four players grabbing at least five rebounds. State’s depth caused problems for Auburn on both the offensive and defensive end, something the Tigers were hoping would not happen.
“We just got to get back, got to play harder,” Williams said. “I just thought we didn’t really come out with that fire in the second quarter when we made some subs there. It really changed things.”
There were very few positives to take away from this one for Auburn, but one bright spot was DeYona Gaston who recorded 27 points to lead all scorers. Gaston also pulled in six rebounds, as the grad transfer from Texas has been stellar for the Tigers all season despite the teams recent struggles.
Mississippi State scored 56 of their 96 points in the paint, a new season high for the Bulldogs. State also averaged a whopping 1.297 points per possession, compared to Auburn’s .757 points per possession. The Tigers will look to reverse that margin in their next contest and come away with a win.
“I just thought we were very undisciplined on defense,” Auburn head coach Johnni Harris said. “Giving up 33 and 35 points in the second and third quarters is not an indication of, you know, how we want to play. Like, that’s just not who we are and what we do.”
The Tigers will be back in action against the Florida Gators on Sunday in Neville Arena, as the Tigers will look to get back in the win column. Tipoff for the Tigers vs Gators is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on SECN+. You can also follow along on the ESPN app or listen along on the Auburn Sports Network.
