Auburn basketball dropped its fifth-straight game on Wednesday, losing on the road to Mississippi State, 91-85.
Auburn outscored Mississippi State by 10 points in the second half of Wednesday’s game and led by as many as seven points with less than five minutes remaining. However, Mississippi State built a wide halftime margin and caught momentum at a crucial time to secure the win.
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Auburn head coach Steven Pearl says that his team’s lack of urgency early in the game led to Mississippi State’s 49-33 halftime advantage.
“We’ve got to make a decision on how we’re going to start games,” Pearl said. “We can’t wait until we’re down 18 to start playing desperate. We’ve got to play desperate when it’s 0-0.”
Several other factors led to Auburn’s loss on Wednesday. Here are five reasons why Auburn dropped its road game to Mississippi State, extending its losing streak to five games.
Auburn gets little production from its bench
Auburn’s starters held their own in Wednesday’s game, but the backups produced little assistance. Steven Pearl used a three-man bench in the loss to Mississippi State, with Elyjah Freeman being the only contributor, connecting on 2-of-5 shots from the field for 7 points. Blake Muschalek and Filip Jovic did not attempt a shot from the field, with Jovic going 0-for-2 from the free-throw line.
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Auburn fails to shoot above 40%
Auburn’s shots were not falling as consistently as it hoped. Auburn shot 38.7% (24-of-62) and made just 46% of its three-pointers (12-of-26). The close shots did not fall as Auburn was 5-of-14 on layup opportunities, and scored just 24 points in the paint. Mississippi State aided Auburn’s demise by blocking 11 of Auburn’s shots.
Keshawn Murphy goes cold in return to Starkville
As is the case with any transfer playing at his old program, Keshawn Murphy hoped to get a win in Starkville against Mississippi State, the program where he played the last three seasons. He helped defensively by grabbing 11 rebounds, but struggled offensively by scoring just seven points and shooting 1-of-7 from the field in his return.
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Josh Hubbard
It is virtually impossible for one player to beat their opponent single-handedly, but Mississippi State’s junior guard Josh Hubbard challenged the theory Wednesday by scoring 46 points in the Bulldogs’ win over Auburn. He scored 35 points at halftime, outscoring Auburn as a whole by two points, and connected on 9-of-12 shots from three-point territory. He ended the game shooting 55% (15-of-27), and was 10-of-16 from three-point land.
Another game, another loss
Auburn basketball’s losing streak extended to five games with its loss to Mississippi State. Going through a rough patch this late in the regular season is never ideal for a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations, and Auburn head coach Steven Pearl hopes for his team’s sake that it wins Saturday at home against Kentucky.
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“If you don’t win on Saturday, you’re probably firmly on the bubble and out of the tournament,” Pearl said postgame.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn basketball’s notable stats from its loss to Mississippi State
