AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 16 Auburn basketball team caps its road swing when it travels to No. 22 Mississippi State for a top-25 showdown Saturday afternoon. It'll be the Tigers' fourth game away from home in their opening six Southeastern Conference contests - the most in the league.
Success has been hard to come by in recent memory in Starkville as Auburn has won twice in a span of 16 games against Mississippi State at Humphrey Coliseum, including last season's 76-68 triumph.
"They're pretty good, Mississippi State," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They're really good at home. They score like 85 points at home and they shoot 40 percent from the three at home. They've had some great wins. They have the sixth-most quadrant one and two wins in the country right now."
The Tigers know they have a stiff test if they want to get back to their winning ways on Saturday.
"They have talented guards," junior forward Anfernee McLemore said. "I expect them to drive the ball. They shoot pretty well. I expect them to come out there and play hard because we did win last year.
With Auburn sitting at 16th in the latest AP poll and Mississippi State at 22nd, it is the second time in series history the two teams will have met when both were ranked. The Tigers won the only other ranked vs. ranked matchup between the two teams when No. 9 Auburn defeated No. 8 Mississippi State, 97-66, on Jan. 3, 1959, in Auburn.
Both teams currently stand at 2-3 in the league standings and are coming off of road defeats during the week.
"We have a target on our back this year, so everyone is going to give us their best shot," McLemore added. "I expect it to be an intense game, a fast-paced game and hopefully we'll come out with the 'W'."
The game is set to tip at 7:31 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum. Rod Bramblett and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will also be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Daymeon Fishback on the call.
Player to watch: Horace Spencer
Senior forward Horace Spencer has picked up his play in his final run through the SEC gauntlet. In the last five games, the Philadelphia, Pa. native is averaging a team-high 6.2 rebounds to go along with 5.4 points per game. In his career vs. Mississippi State, Spencer is averaging 7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per contest while shooting an even 50 percent from the floor.
Inside the series: Mississippi State
Auburn leads 76-69 in its 145-game series against Mississippi State. The Tigers have won two straight and four of the last six against the Bulldogs. A win Saturday would give Auburn three straight wins in the series for the first time since winning nine straight from Feb. 5, 1997-Jan. 31, 2001.
The Bulldogs hold a 43-26 advantage in games played in Starkville, including 28-13 in Humphrey Coliseum. Mississippi State has won 14 of the last 16 over Auburn at Humphrey Coliseum, but the Tigers won 76-68 last season at The Hump.
Chef Harper with the pop, boy
Jared Harper, who was named to the Lute Olson Award Mid-Season Watch List earlier this season, has 16 career 20-point games, with six so far this season.
Harper, who is the SEC's only player averaging 15 points and six assists per game, is eighth in the SEC with 15.3 points per game and first in the SEC and 11th nationally with 6.6 assists per game, while playing an SEC-best 33.8 minutes per game. He is tied with Bryce Brown for 10th in the league with an 81.8 free-throw percentage and is sixth shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range while making 2.7 shots from long range per game, which is sixth.
Harper has five career games with double-digit assists, including three this season, and he is third in the SEC with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Auburn has scored 294 points off of Harper's assists this season. Harper has made or assisted on 205 of Auburn's 535 made field goals this season (38.3 percent). Harper's 398 career assists lead all SEC players and are seventh among all DI juniors.
No. 16 Tigers wrap up road swing at No. 22 Mississippi State
