Auburn can't afford SEC tourney slip vs. Mississippi State
NASHVILLE -- Auburn Tigers faces a must-win game against Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference tournament's first round on Wednesday.
The 12th-seeded Tigers (16-15) sit squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble, the last team in according to ESPN's Bracketology and the first team out on Bracket Matrix entering theh week.
The Tigers ranked 40th in Monday's NET rankings but have lost eight of their last 10, including Saturday's 96-84 defeat at then-No. 16 Alabama that dropped Auburn to 4-12 in Quad 1.
"We have five of some of the best wins in the country," Tigers coach Stephen Pearl said. "We have the best win in college basketball at Florida. If you look at our quality wins and the other teams on the bubble, I don't think those teams get those wins."
The Tigers are 3-2 in Quad 2, which includes a Feb. 8 loss at 13th-seeded Mississippi State (13-18). Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs to a 91-85 victory with a school-record 10 3-pointers and a career-high 46 points.
Auburn's inability to defend (124h in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com) cost it dearly in that game as Mississippi State shot 50% from the field and 53.3% (16 of 30) from long distance.
Hubbard closed out the regular season with 42 points in a 102-96 home loss against Georgia on Saturday. He averages 22.1 points per game, second-best in the SEC.
"Yeah, I'd imagine you can't find a brighter red pen available to circle him on the scouting report for Auburn, considering what he did the first time we played them at home," Bulldogs coach Chris Jans said on Monday.
The Tigers have big-time scorers of their own in Keyshawn Hall (20.4 ppg), Tahaad Pettiford (15.2) and Kevin Overton (13.3) as well as KeShawn Murphy (10.6), who spent his first three years at Mississippi State and ranis second on Auburn in rebounding (6.8) behind Hall (6.9).
The Bulldogs' wild-card is Jayden Epps (13.7), who is capable of big-scoring games (23 at Missouri, 27 at Texas), who has scored above his average just once (14 vs. Florida) in the last nine games.
--Chris Lee, Field Level Media
Copyright 2026 STATS LLC and Field Level Media. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Field Level Media is strictly prohibited.
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:47 |  | Official timeout | ||
| 4:47 |  | Bulldogs defensive rebound | ||
| 4:49 | | Kevin Overton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:49 | | Filip Jović offensive rebound | ||
| 4:51 | | Keyshawn Hall misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:51 | | Sebastian Williams-Adams defensive rebound | ||
| 4:53 | | Josh Hubbard misses two point layup | ||
| 5:10 | | Jamarion Davis-Fleming defensive rebound | ||
| 5:12 | | Filip Jović misses two point layup | ||
| 5:21 | | Kevin Overton defensive rebound | ||
| 5:23 | | Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | ||
| 5:44 | | Sergej Macura defensive rebound | ||
| 5:44 | | Filip Jović misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 5:44 | | Filip Jović misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 5:44 | | Sergej Macura shooting foul (Filip Jović draws the foul) | ||
| 6:05 | | +3 | Jayden Epps makes three point jump shot | 26-22 |
| 6:13 | | Bulldogs offensive rebound | ||
| 6:15 | | Tahaad Pettiford blocks Josh Hubbard's three point jump shot | ||
| 6:28 | | Achor Achor defensive rebound | ||
| 6:30 | | Elyjah Freeman misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:50 | | +2 | Jayden Epps makes two point layup | 23-22 |
| 7:03 | | KeShawn Murphy turnover (offensive goaltending) | ||
| 7:15 | | Elyjah Freeman offensive rebound | ||
| 7:17 | | Tahaad Pettiford misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:22 | | TV timeout | ||
| 7:22 | | Jayden Epps personal foul | ||
| 7:22 | | Sebastian Williams-Adams defensive rebound | ||
| 7:24 | | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:53 | | +3 | Kevin Overton makes three point jump shot (Tahaad Pettiford assists) | 21-22 |
| 8:14 | | +2 | Quincy Ballard makes two point dunk (Josh Hubbard assists) | 21-19 |
| 8:18 | | Quincy Ballard defensive rebound | ||
| 8:20 | | Tahaad Pettiford misses two point jump shot | ||
| 8:33 | | +2 | Quincy Ballard makes two point jump shot (Jayden Epps assists) | 19-19 |
| 8:38 | | Quincy Ballard defensive rebound | ||
| 8:40 | | Tahaad Pettiford misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:51 | | Tahaad Pettiford defensive rebound | ||
| 8:53 | | Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:03 | | +2 | Tahaad Pettiford makes two point layup | 17-19 |
| 9:10 | | KeShawn Murphy defensive rebound | ||
| 9:12 | | Sergej Macura misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:31 | | Sergej Macura offensive rebound | ||
| 9:33 | | Tahaad Pettiford blocks Jayden Epps's two point layup | ||
| 9:41 | | Achor Achor defensive rebound | ||
| 9:43 | | Kevin Overton misses two point jump shot | ||
| 10:06 | | Elyjah Freeman defensive rebound | ||
| 10:06 | | Sergej Macura misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 10:06 | | Sergej Macura misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 10:06 | | Kevin Overton shooting foul (Sergej Macura draws the foul) | ||
| 10:11 | | Jayden Epps defensive rebound | ||
| 10:13 | | Sebastian Williams-Adams misses two point jump shot | ||
| 10:36 | | +3 | Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot | 17-17 |
| 10:44 | | Sergej Macura offensive rebound | ||
| 10:46 | | Sergej Macura misses two point jump shot | ||
| 11:05 | | Bulldogs defensive rebound | ||
| 11:05 | | Elyjah Freeman misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 11:05 | | Elyjah Freeman misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 11:05 | | Achor Achor shooting foul (Elyjah Freeman draws the foul) | ||
| 11:06 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:06 | | Shawn Jones Jr. personal foul | ||
| 11:22 | | Filip Jović defensive rebound | ||
| 11:24 | | Shawn Jones Jr. misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:42 | | Achor Achor defensive rebound | ||
| 11:44 | | Blake Muschalek misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:10 | | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point jump shot | 14-17 |
| 12:18 | | Achor Achor defensive rebound | ||
| 12:20 | | Kevin Overton misses two point jump shot | ||
| 12:45 | | Ja'Borri McGhee personal foul | ||
| 12:45 | | Ja'Borri McGhee turnover (lost ball) (Blake Muschalek steals) | ||
| 13:16 | | +3 | Sebastian Williams-Adams makes three point jump shot (Kevin Overton assists) | 12-17 |
| 13:33 | | +1 | Ja'Borri McGhee makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-14 |
| 13:33 | | Ja'Borri McGhee misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 13:33 | | Sebastian Williams-Adams shooting foul (Ja'Borri McGhee draws the foul) | ||
| 13:54 | | +1 | Keyshawn Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-14 |
| 13:54 | | Keyshawn Hall misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 13:54 | | Ja'Borri McGhee shooting foul (Keyshawn Hall draws the foul) | ||
| 14:02 | | Kevin Overton defensive rebound | ||
| 14:04 | | Jamarion Davis-Fleming misses two point jump shot | ||
| 14:26 | | +2 | Kevin Overton makes two point jump shot | 11-13 |
| 14:44 | | Blake Muschalek defensive rebound | ||
| 14:46 | | Jayden Epps misses three point jump shot | ||
| 14:59 | | +1 | Blake Muschalek makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-11 |
| 14:59 | | +1 | Blake Muschalek makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 11-10 |
| 14:59 | | Josh Hubbard shooting foul (Blake Muschalek draws the foul) | ||
| 15:05 | | Achor Achor turnover (bad pass) (Kevin Overton steals) | ||
| 15:20 | | Achor Achor defensive rebound | ||
| 15:22 | | Kevin Overton misses three point jump shot | ||
| 15:37 | | +2 | Jamarion Davis-Fleming makes two point layup | 11-9 |
| 15:46 | | Jamarion Davis-Fleming offensive rebound | ||
| 15:48 | | Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | ||
| 15:56 | | TV timeout | ||
| 15:56 | | Keyshawn Hall turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 16:15 | | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point jump shot | 9-9 |
| 16:24 | | Quincy Ballard defensive rebound | ||
| 16:26 | | Keyshawn Hall misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:35 | | Keyshawn Hall defensive rebound | ||
| 16:37 | | Quincy Ballard misses two point jump shot | ||
| 17:03 | | +2 | Keyshawn Hall makes two point jump shot | 7-9 |
| 17:21 | | +2 | Shawn Jones Jr. makes two point layup | 7-7 |
| 17:35 | | Quincy Ballard defensive rebound | ||
| 17:37 | | Tahaad Pettiford misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:50 | | +2 | Jayden Epps makes two point layup | 5-7 |
| 18:01 | | Achor Achor offensive rebound | ||
| 18:03 | | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | ||
| 18:10 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes technical free throw 2 of 2 | 3-7 |
| 18:10 | | Josh Hubbard misses technical free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 18:10 | | KeShawn Murphy technical foul | ||
| 18:11 | | +3 | KeShawn Murphy makes three point jump shot (Keyshawn Hall assists) | 2-7 |
| 18:26 | | +2 | Achor Achor makes two point layup (Quincy Ballard assists) | 2-4 |
| 18:36 | | KeShawn Murphy personal foul | ||
| 18:59 | | +2 | KeShawn Murphy makes two point jump shot (Tahaad Pettiford assists) | 0-4 |
| 19:11 | | KeShawn Murphy defensive rebound | ||
| 19:13 | | Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | ||
| 19:48 | | +2 | KeShawn Murphy makes two point dunk (Kevin Overton assists) | 0-2 |
| 20:00 | | (Tigers gains possession) |
| Min. Per Game | ||
| Pts. Per Game | ||
| Ast. Per Game | ||
| Reb. Per Game | ||
| Field Goal % | ||
| Three Point % | ||
| Free Throw % |
|
Bulldogs defensive rebound | 4:47 |
|
Kevin Overton misses three point jump shot | 4:49 |
|
Filip Jović offensive rebound | 4:49 |
|
Keyshawn Hall misses three point jump shot | 4:51 |
|
Sebastian Williams-Adams defensive rebound | 4:51 |
|
Josh Hubbard misses two point layup | 4:53 |
|
Jamarion Davis-Fleming defensive rebound | 5:10 |
|
Filip Jović misses two point layup | 5:12 |
|
Kevin Overton defensive rebound | 5:21 |
|
Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | 5:23 |
|
Sergej Macura defensive rebound | 5:44 |
| Team Stats | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Points | 26 | 22 |
| Field Goals | 11-26 (42.3%) | 8-22 (36.4%) |
| 3-Pointers | 2-7 (28.6%) | 3-12 (25.0%) |
| Free Throws | 2-6 (33.3%) | 3-8 (37.5%) |
| Total Rebounds | 19 | 13 |
| Offensive | 4 | 2 |
| Defensive | 12 | 11 |
| Team | 3 | 0 |
| Assists | 3 | 5 |
| Steals | 0 | 2 |
| Blocks | 0 | 2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Fouls | 7 | 4 |
| Technicals | 0 | 1 |
| Top Scorers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Hubbard G | 8 PTS | 0 REB | 1 AST | ||
| K. Murphy F | 7 PTS | 2 REB | 0 AST | ||
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| J. Hubbard | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3/10 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Epps | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3/6 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Q. Ballard | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| S. Jones Jr. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Achor | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| J. Hubbard | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3/10 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Epps | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3/6 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Q. Ballard | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| S. Jones Jr. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Achor | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| J. Davis-Fleming | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. McGhee | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| S. Macura | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T. Bartlett | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B. Walker | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A. Ali | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Warren | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Paul | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 26 | 16 | 3 | 11/26 | 2/7 | 2/6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| K. Murphy | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3/3 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Overton | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2/6 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Hall | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 1/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Pettiford | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1/5 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| E. Freeman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| K. Murphy | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3/3 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Overton | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2/6 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Hall | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 1/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Pettiford | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1/5 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| E. Freeman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB |
| S. Williams-Adams | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B. Muschalek | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| F. Jovic | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. Magwood | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Williams | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| S. Walker | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R. Trapp | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Shay | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Cardwell | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A. Bashir | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| B. Pearson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Bowman | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 22 | 13 | 5 | 8/22 | 3/12 | 3/8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
