Auburn Tigers News: Mississippi State transfer likely committing, AU hoops dominates Arkansas

In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, a Mississippi State transfer looks likely for the Plains and Bruce Pearl's group dominates Arkansas at the Bud Walton Arena in a historic effort

Whether on the gridiron or the hardwood, the Auburn Tigers have serious momentum. Hugh Freeze's program's recruiting effort has been stellar despite certain members of his coaching staff departing, while Bruce Pearl's group took its SEC opener in historic fashion.

AL.com's Matt Cohen explained that the Tigers' historic 32-point win in the Bud Walton Arena was made possible by the program's decision to play App State on the road.

"The thing with a road game against Appalachian State Auburn had hardly anything to gain and far more to lose concerning its NCAA Tournament resume," Cohen prefaced before saying, "Had Auburn won, it’s not a relatively big story.

"But Auburn lost. Pearl and his program received a significant amount of criticism from national media. The talking heads posited why Auburn would even bother playing a game like that. Why take a risk like that? For an afternoon like Saturday. That is why."

CBS Sports' Gary Parrish had condemned Pearl scheduling App State, blaming that game for keeping out of the AP Top 25 in December.

"The Tigers beat Bronny James and the Trojans 91-75 on Sunday to improve to 8-2 on the season," Parrish prefaced before saying, "If not for Auburn coach Bruce Pearl scheduling a game at Appalachian State earlier this month that most high-major coaches would never schedule, Auburn would likely already be in the AP poll. But Pearl did schedule that game, and his Tigers lost it, so AP voters have largely ignored them. Which is understandable."

AU is in the AP Top 25 now, though, and it still won't matter what that ranking is until March.

Auburn Tigers in lead for Mississippi State transfer Percy Lewis

As Auburn Daily's Zac Blackerby relayed, Freeze's Auburn Tigers hold a strong lead for Mississippi State transfer Percy Lewis, a former 4-star JUCO transfer who rates as a 3-star transfer. Arkansas is still in the mix, though.

"Mississippi State OT transfer Percy Lewis made the official visit to Auburn on Saturday and it sounds like it went well," Blackerby prefaced before saying, "A handful of Auburn media members said after speaking with him that they liked Auburn's chances to land him.

"Lewis will decide between Auburn and Arkansas and a decision should come soon. He was impressed with everything Auburn showed him but he also spoke highly of Arkansas."

While building an offensive line through the portal isn't optimal, grabbing plug-and-play options for depth purposes is; making the SEC veteran Lewis a logical target.