Auburn basketball opponent preview: Mississippi State Bulldogs

Swing Your Sword, Auburn basketball fans.

On a day where both teams will be honoring the late, great Mike Leach (Rest in peace, Coach), Auburn still has a game to play. A date with the Bulldogs of Mississippi State has arrived.

State, at 12-4 has had a solid season — though a 1-3 start to conference play has them moving in the wrong direction. The Tigers, on the other hand, can move into a tie for second in the conference with a win and a Texas A&M loss (as I’m writing this, Tennessee just lost to Kentucky).

Lets take a look at Mississippi State.

The Pirates on Offense

We will affectionately calling State the Pirates, as we all loved Coach Leach. Anyways, State runs, like most teams in college basketball, a version of the motion offense. Lots of passes without dribbling and lots of off-ball screens.

One unique thing they do is screen for screeners. They do this in two ways: screening to get the ball screener to the attack point, and the Spain pick-and-roll, where the roll man comes off of a screen from someone else instead of springing the screen on the ball handler. This has been notably used by the Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul the last several years.

The Pirates on Defense

State runs a switch heavy defense. Much like the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics, switching anytime players cross paths allows them to chase motion better. However, it can be exploited with open jumpers if the switch doesn’t happen quick enough. State does a good job of doing it though. This is one of the best defenses in college basketball.

They give up just 56 points a game and allow just 30% from the 3-point line. Auburn will have to work for their points tonight.

Matchup to watch for Auburn basketball

This one is gonna get settled on the perimeter. If the Tigers can get some production from the guards against this tough State defense, then we should get a home dub. If not, it will be close.

War Eagle