Takeaways: Auburn Basketball Loses 64-58 At Mississippi State
The Auburn Tigers lost their second-straight game on Saturday afternoon.
Auburn (16-4, 5-2 SEC) has now lost two SEC games in a row following their defeat at the hands of Mississippi State.
Here are takeaways from the loss.
Second-chance points
Mississippi state snagged 14 offensive rebounds and came away with 12 points. It's not a massive eye-catching stat, but compared to the Tigers' six offensive boards and three second-chance points, it proved to be crucial in a six-point loss.
Bruce Pearl emphasized the importance of keeping State off of the glass. They just couldn't do it in the biggest moments down the stretch.
That miss free throw putback with time winding down was devastating.
Lack of focus
Auburn seemed sluggish, careless with the basketball in important moments, and just tired.
The Tigers would gain momentum, cut the lead to one or tie the game, and then lose all intensity and toss the ball off of feet or out of bounds. Eight of their 11 turnovers came in the second half.
The biggest question throughout the season is whether or not Auburn can put together two really good halves. They've been extremely dominant at times this year, but not for an entire game.
Second half lull
Speaking of not being able to tie together two periods of play, Mississippi State whipped Auburn in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 57.7% from the floor and 44.4% from deep. Four of their five threes were in the second half. They had 12 fast break points in the final 20 minutes.
Here's a fun stat from Nathan King of 247Sports:
In the final 5:22 of Auburn's loss at Alabama, the Tigers allowed four offensive rebounds, leading to 6 second-chance points. In the final 4:03 of Auburn's loss at Mississippi State, the Tigers allowed three offensive rebounds, leading to 4 second-chance points.
Auburn has to focus up.
Is this a wake up call?
Maybe two straight losses is what Auburn needs to wake up. The Tigers feel like one of the better teams in the SEC. But when are they going to start showing up on the road against good competition?
It's a difficult thing to win on the road. It's another to sleepwalk through nearly an entire contest. The Tigers need to wake up.
