No. 1 Auburn blasts No. 15 Mississippi State 88-66

AUBURN, Ala. – Even without All-American Johni Broome, No. 1 Auburn looked every bit like the nation’s top-ranked team, hammering No. 15 Mississippi State 88-66 Tuesday at sold-out Neville Arena, the Tigers' ninth straight victory.

“You can’t be anything but impressed,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “The crowd was amazing. Our guys felt the energy in the building.”

Chad Baker-Mazara led Auburn with 20 points while Chaney Johnson scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots in his first start of the season.

“That was an amazing feeling,” Johnson said. “I’m grateful. We feed off The Jungle (student section); it gives us energy and allows us to lock in and be more focused.” 

Denver Jones scored 13 points and had three assists with no turnovers. Tahaad Pettiford added 12 points.

“Denver Jones continues to amaze me for a combo guard playing point,” Pearl said. “He’s done an incredible job. To not turn the ball over, against a team that forces as many turnovers as Mississippi State does.”

Auburn played exceptional defense, holding the Bulldogs to three 3-pointers on 24 attempts (12.5 percent) and forcing 15 combined errant shots from Mississippi State leaders Josh Hubbard and Cameron Matthews before their first bucket with 8:09 left in the game.

“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.”

“Our first-shot defense was elite tonight,” Pearl said. “Chaney, Dylan and Denver are elite defenders. That starting five is as good a defensive unit as you can put on the floor. They locked in and bought in.”

The Tigers made 11 steals and blocked 10 shots while limiting Mississippi State to five assists against 16 turnovers.

“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.”

In Broome’s absence, Miles Kelly picked up the rebounding slack, recording a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds and 13 points.

“It was a huge emphasis,” Kelly said. “I took it upon myself to stick my nose in there and go get some of those boards. I knew it was needed for this game.”

Leading by 19 at the half, Pettiford made a steal and drove for a Jungle-jolting windmill slam, the beginning of nine consecutive Auburn points by the freshman, who led the Tigers with four steals.

The Bulldogs cut Auburn’s 26-point lead in half with 5:18 to play before the Tigers regained momentum with a 15-2 run. 

Baker-Mazara set the tone early, scoring eight straight points including a pair of 3-pointers to give Auburn a 10-0 lead, forcing an Ole Miss timeout after 2 minutes and 15 seconds. 

Pettiford beat the shot clock by banking in a 3-pointer to put Auburn ahead 17-9.

After State pulled within three, Auburn used a 7-0 run to lead by double digits after Johnson’s blocked shot led to Kelly’s 3-pointer. 

Jones and Johnson followed with 3-pointers in a 13-1 run that put the Tigers on top by 15. 

Dylan Cardwell passed to a cutting Johnson for a baseline slam that brought Broome to his feet on the Auburn bench. 

Baker-Mazara ended the half with his third 3-pointer to give Auburn a 48-27 halftime lead. 

Auburn (16-1, 4-0) returns to the road Saturday in Athens, Georgia, tipping off at noon against the Bulldogs on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.

“Let’s get to the next one and see if we can keep getting better,” Pearl said. 

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

POSTGAME NOTES

• For the first time this season, Auburn used the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Chaney Johnson and Dylan Cardwell. It marked Johnson’s first start of the season and his third in his two-year Auburn career. Jones, Baker-Mazara and Cardwell have now started in all 17 games this season.
• With the win, Auburn now leads Mississippi State, 84-71, in the all-time series including 51-24 in Auburn and 8-1 at Neville Arena. 
• Auburn improves to 16-1 on the season. It was the seventh time the Tigers have opened a season by winning at least 16 of their first 17 games including the third time in the last eight seasons.
• Auburn improves to 6-1 all-time when ranked No. 1 in the country.
• The win is Auburn’s fifth win over a ranked opponent this season, which is a regular-season program record and just one behind the overall school record of Top 25 wins in the 2018-19 season.
• Auburn is now 2-1 in ranked matchups against Mississippi State all-time. No. 9 Auburn defeated No. 8 Mississippi State, 97-66, on Jan. 3, 1959 in Auburn, and No. 22 Mississippi State knocked off No. 16 Auburn, 92-84, on Jan. 26, 2019 in Starkville.
• Bruce Pearl is 5-1 against Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans including 4-1 during Jans’ time in Starkville. The first meeting between the two head coaches came in a 78-77 Auburn victory over New Mexico State in the first round of the 2019 Midwest Region as the Tigers advanced to the first Final Four in program history.
• Auburn moves its winning streak to nine games. It is the sixth time the Tigers have won at least nine-straight games under Pearl and the first time since they won 11-straight games last season.
• AU led 46-27 at halftime. It was the Tigers’ largest halftime lead in SEC play this season. They improved to 13-0 on the season when leading at the half.
• The 22-point win is the Tigers’ eighth win of the season by at least 20 points and their first in SEC play. It was Auburn’s largest win over a ranked opponent since the Tigers beat 15th-ranked South Carolina, 86-55, in the quarterfinals of last year’s SEC Tournament.
• Auburn shot 55.0 percent (33-of-60) from the floor, which is the eighth time the Tigers have shot at least 50 percent this season including both SEC home games (57.1 percent vs. Missouri).
• The Tigers went 10-of-24 from 3-point range. It was the ninth time they have made double-digit 3-point field goals this season including both SEC home games.
• Auburn blocked 10 shots against Mississippi State. It marked the third time the Tigers have recorded double-digit blocked shots this season including twice in SEC play (10 blocks at Texas).
• AU scored 22 points off 16 Mississippi State turnovers. It was the eighth time the Tigers have scored at least 20 points off turnovers this season. Auburn’s 22 points off turnovers matches an SEC season high from the Missouri game.
• The Tigers tied a season high with 11 steals, which they previously set against Georgia State.
• Auburn placed five players in double figures led by Chad Baker-Mazara with a season-high 20 points. CBM finished 8-of-11 from the floor, 3-of-5 from deep and 1-of-2 from the foul line. He added two rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in 25 minutes in the win. It was Baker-Mazara’s 13th game in double figures this season and the 45th of his career.
• In his first start of the season, Johnson finished with 17 points on 7-of-10 from the floor, 1-of-1  from long range and 2-of-2 from the foul line to go with eight rebounds, a career-high four blocks, one assist and one steal in 34 minutes of play versus the Bulldogs.
• Denver Jones and Miles Kelly each added 13 in the win. Jones finished 3-of-8 overall, 1-of-5 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line. He also added three assists, two steals, one rebound and one block in 28 minutes. His three assists give him 50 assists on the season, which surpasses his total of 47 assists from last season. It was Jones’ 13th double-figure scoring game of the season and 74th of his career. Kelly recorded his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career. He added 10 rebounds to go with two steals in 29 minutes. Kelly finished 4-of-8 from the floor, 3-of-5 from deep and 2-of-2 from the foul line. He has scored in double figures nine times this season and 59 times in his collegiate career. 
• Freshman Tahaad Pettiford scored in double figures for the 10th time in 17 career games including all six games against ranked opponents, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-11 field goals and 2-of-6 3-pointers to go with three assists and a career-high four steals in 21 minutes.
• The Tigers saw another sell-out crowd of 9,121 at Neville Arena which marked the program’s 63rd-consecutive sellout game. They also had the largest student crowd in The Jungle for the first time since the 2021-22 season.