Auburn basketball dominated Mississippi State in the first game without Johni Broome in a top-15 showdown.
The No. 1 Auburn Tigers took on the No. 15 Mississippi State Bulldogs in a top-15 showdown that had a massive impact on the SEC standings and allowed them to showcase themselves without All-American Johni Broome.
After Broome’s injury in last Saturday’s win over South Carolina, the Auburn faithful were concerned about what their team would look like without their best player.
The Tigers squashed those concerns after jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, playing one of their better halves of the season, and had a commanding 46 to 27-point lead at the half.
Despite coming out flat in the second half, the Tigers managed to withstand any comeback attempts and led by as many as 26 at one point for the 88-66 victory over the Bulldogs.
Takeaway #1: Tigers didn’t miss a step without All-American center
Coming into Tuesday’s contest against the Bulldogs, it was a big question mark if the Tigers could maintain their newly appointed No.1 ranking with two ranked conference opponents in the same week.
The Tigers looked to make up the production of Broome with Chaney Johnson and Dylan Cardwell in the front court, and they didn’t disappoint.
“Chaney and Dylan (Cardwell), their ability to stay down, be second off the floor, blocked all those shots, really worked hard at defending without fouling,” Pearl said. “That was the difference in the game.”
The duo combined for 26 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks and helped limit Mississippi State’s offense to 38 points in the paint.
Takeaway #2: Chad Baker-Mazara assumed the lead scorer role
With the Tiger’s leading scorer sidelined, the team needed someone to assume the role and help lead the offense against the Bulldogs.
Chad Baker-Mazara stepped up and took over this game and scored 20 points, shooting 3-for-5 on 3-point attempts, and led both teams in scoring in one of his most efficient games of the season.
If the Tigers are to stay competitive without their leading scorer, performances from Baker-Mazara will be crucial to keeping the No.1 team atop the SEC standings.
Takeaway #3: Mississippi State stars struggle
After scoring 90 points against Kentucky in their loss at home on Saturday, the Bulldogs looked to bounce back, restart their win streak, and rely on their starting lineup: Josh Hubbard and Cameron Matthews.
“At halftime, when those two are 0 for 11, that’s not the recipe for success,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “They did an excellent job on both of those guys.”
Auburn gave the Bulldogs stars a hard time in this contest and held the pair to a combined 4-for-22 from the field with 21 combined points and 10 coming from the charity stripe.
With such a high-scoring game against Kentucky and being shut down against the Tigers, he will have something to watch moving forward for the Bulldogs.
Next up for Auburn (16-1) at Georgia (14-2) – Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. EST
Next up for Mississippi State (14-3): at Ole Miss (15-2) – Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. EST