Recap: Auburn loses second straight in Starkville
The Plains weren’t the only thing that looked flat in Auburn on Saturday.
Bruce Pearl and the No. 6 Auburn Tigers barely showed up for their seventh SEC tilt against Mississippi State, losing 64-58 to the Bulldogs.
The Tigers shot just 35% from the field in the game.
Forward Johni Broome was efficient but overall not very productive on an afternoon where his team desperately needed him, as the junior finished with a team-high 14 points on just 7 attempts from the field.
Auburn’s backcourt struggled once again on the road, as Trae Donaldson, Aden Holloway, and K.D Johnson combined for just 13 points in the contest.
Mississippi State came into the game with a ferocious defense, especially at home, but Auburn’s inability to score the basketball for the second straight road came is definitely cause for concern.
As for Mississippi State, star forward Tolu Smith arguably outplayed Broome in this game. The senior not only shut down Broome on the defensive end, but also contributed 9 points and 8 rebounds in the game. He was a key cog in the Bulldogs defensive stand to hold off Auburn’s comeback attempt as well. Smith also helped Mississippi State out-rebound Auburn by 15 in the game.
Auburn’s second-straight loss drops the Tigers to 5-2 in SEC play. They’ll go back to the drawing board before returning to Neville Arena to host Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
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