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Auburn Basketball: Mississippi State Beatable, Not to Be Overlooked

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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The Auburn basketball team hosts Mississippi State tonight at Auburn Arena. The Bulldogs are a very beatable opponent, but are too good to be overlooked.

Auburn Tigers (10-7, 2-2) vs Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-9, 1-3)

  • Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2015
  • Start Time: 8PM Central
  • Location: Auburn, AL
  • Arena: Auburn Arena
  • TV Info: SEC Network
  • Live Stream: WatchESPN
  • Odds (VegasInsider.com): Auburn (-8)

Word is spreading about the transformation of the atmosphere at Auburn Arena. The Auburn Tigers, who are 9-1 at home this season, now possess a true home court advantage that was missing in recent seasons, and the home crowd truly impacted the team’s 71-68 victory over South Carolina Saturday. With the win, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl has his team at 2-2 in conference play with an opportunity to move above .500 with another home victory tonight against Mississippi State.

Jan 17, 2015; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers guard KT Harrell (1) takes a shot against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the second half at Auburn Arena. The Tigers beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 71-68. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

But, though the Bulldogs are certainly beatable, they shouldn’t be overlooked. The fact of the matter is, according to Pearl, the SEC as a whole is much more dangerous top to bottom than it was when he was the head coach at Tennessee a few years ago.

“The conference is so much better. It is the best in ten years … from the bottom and through middle, it has been since I was associated with the SEC,” Pearl said. “There were two or three opponents that if you played okay at home you would beat them and you could definitely beat them on the road if you played well. That is not the case with anybody in our league (now).”

And that includes Mississippi State.

While fans may have soured on Bulldogs coach Rick Ray, the team has shown some progress this season. MSU won their first five games this year, finished non-conference play with a 62-55 upset win over Florida State and beat Vanderbilt 57-54 Saturday to snap a 16-game SEC losing streak.

Plus, they’ve got some talented players, especially on defense. MSU ranks 33rd in the nation with 59.6. points allowed per game.

“They have great size, great length and really great depth. They run good stuff,” Pearl said. “The only thing they do not do well statistically is shoot the 3-ball as a team. They get to the foul line probably second or third-most in the league. They shoot a lot of free throws. They shoot a good percentage from the foul line. It is a good team — it is a really good team. It is not the Mississippi State team of the last couple of years.”

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As usual, that size and length is sure to give the Auburn basketball team fits. Gavin Ware, at 6-foo-9 and 255 pounds, will pose a threat to Cinmeon Bowers in the post and the Bulldogs are expected to start three players listed at 6-foot-7 or bigger.

The Tigers will need to use the same formula that proved to be a success in their last game against the Gamecocks. Auburn forced 17 turnovers and nine steals, Cinmeon Bowers notched his 11th double-double of the season, K.T. Harrell led all scorers with 24 points and 16 in the second half, and Antoine Mason drove to the basket early and often on his way to 14 points.

If Auburn plays up to potential, and the home crowd continues to flex its muscle, the Tigers should win. They’re eight-point favorites, after all. However, if Harrell, Bowers or Mason have an off night and the team hits it’s patented cold shooting spell or second half slump, they’ll be in trouble.

Projected Lineups:

Auburn

  • #5 Cinmeon Bowers, F, Jr., 6-foot-7, 278 pounds, 13.3 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 29.2 MPG
  • #25 Jordon Granger, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, 5.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 22.6 MPG
  • #1 K.T. Harrell, G, Sr., 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, 16.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 32.3 MPG
  • #12 K.C. Ross-Miller, G, So., 6-foot, 178 pounds, 6.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 23.9 MPG
  • #14 Antoine Mason, G, Sr., 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, 14.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 29.0 MPG

Mississippi State

  • #32 Craig Sword, G, Jr., 6-foot-3, 196 pounds, 4.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 1.0 APG
  • #15 I.J. Ready, G, So., 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, 7.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 2.1 APG
  • #23 Travis Daniels, F, Jr., 6-foot-8, 219 pounds, 7.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.5 APG
  • #25 Roquez Johnson, F, Sr., 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, 10.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.6 APG
  • #20 Gavin Ware, F, Jr., 6-foot-9, 255 pounds, 9.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG

Next: Football Recruiting: What We Learned From Big Boom Weekend

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