Mississippi State and Auburn are set for a rematch in the SEC Tournament today in a fight to keep postseason hopes alive. For the Bulldogs (13-18, 5-13 SEC), it’s all or nothing in Nashville, and their journey starts with an opponent against whom they recorded their most memorable victory of the season.
Historic Hubbard
The first Bulldogs-Tigers matchup on Feb. 18 saw All-SEC Third Teamer Josh Hubbard record his best outing as a Bulldog, posting 46 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, hitting a program record 10 three-pointers while not committing any turnovers in a dramatic 91-85 win over the Tigers.
“I’d imagine you can’t find a brighter red pen available to circle him on the scouting report for Auburn, considering what he did the first time we played them at home,” head coach Chris Jans said. “They had made some adjustments on the fly to try and slow him down and put the ball in some of his teammates’ hands, which I assume will be the case at some point during the game. Maybe the start, who knows? I don’t get to coach their team or see their practices, but I’m sure they’ll have a plan to try and disrupt him and not let him get going that way.”
Hubbard nearly eclipsed that historic performance with a 42-point eruption in a 102-96 loss to Georgia on Saturday. It was another display that reminded fans why he’s the only Bulldog since Erick Dampier – and just the second in program history – to make three straight All-SEC teams.
The junior guard had a bit of extra motivation against the Tigers, as his back-and-forth with former teammate KeShawn Murphy, who transferred to Auburn in the offseason, helped fuel an offensive explosion and fans will be hoping for more of the same today.
Declawed
Head coach Steven Pearl has struggled to step into his father Bruce’s shoes, and has his team at 16-15 in his first year in charge of a program that went to the Final Four a year ago.
One of the few SEC teams to have a worse end to the season than MSU, Auburn is clawing for its tournament life in Nashville after losing eight of its last ten games to end the regular season after starting 5-3 in SEC play.
The Tigers, however, present several issues that came up in Starkville last month. Former MSU standout Murphy and Keyshawn Hall may not have led the Tigers to victory last time out, but they will be ones to watch today when the teams meet again at Bridgestone Arena.
“I remember us playing with a purpose defensively,” Jans said. “I thought (Hall) obviously ended up having a really big game as well. But, if I remember him correctly, I thought we guarded him pretty well. Sometimes, good offense is just better than solid defense. I thought, individually, for him, a lot that he just made some big-time plays. He’s a good player, but how we defended him was good. He was just better in certain situations and possessions.”
MSU has struggled mightily on defense since the Auburn win, with opponents scoring 100 points three times during the Bulldogs’ five-game losing streak. Jans is looking to rediscover the defensive focus, especially as his group had a prolific showing against Georgia offensively.
“That’s what stuck out to me the most. I thought we were really assignment correct for what we were trying to do for the most part against what they run,” Jans said in his reflections on the last Auburn game. “Then, our pressure on the ball and our line of scrimmage, we talk about the line of scrimmage with these guys a lot lately. We’re not trying to give ground after the catch. We’re trying to make a stand, if you will, and not allow any sort of penetration at the point of attack. We’ve struggled with that a lot this year. But, that was the game after Ole Miss, I thought both of those games were two of our better games when it came to just guarding the ball in that way.”
SEC Tournament success
The Bulldogs have won at least one game in every SEC Tournament appearance under Jans. It will likely take four wins in four days for the Bulldogs to make a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, but regardless of what comes next, the team is trying to make every shot count while they can still take them.
“That’s certainly a streak that we want to keep going,” Jans said of his team’s recent performances in Nashville. “I don’t know if I’ll share it with the guys or not. I don’t think it’s going to have much, if anything, to do with their motivation or their play hard, but you’re always trying to find whatever edge you can to motivate your team and your players.”
The streak isn’t the biggest motivator for Jans or the team, but after a difficult campaign, Jans wants the group to find the feeling for themselves as much as anyone else.
“I just really want for our team to have that feeling again of what it feels like to put the work in, which they’ve continued to do, and be rewarded for it when the lights are on of winning,” he said. “The platform down there, the lights, and what comes with this tournament are exciting. There’ll be 16 programs down there and 16 fan bases and a lot of eyeballs. Intensity usually goes up a notch in those types of environments, and that’s what I expect from our team as well.”
MSU is set for a 2 p.m. tipoff against Auburn in Nashville. The game will air on SEC Network.
Posted in College Sports
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