MSU closes regular season at Auburn looking to keep up momentum
With the Southeastern Conference Tournament looming next week, Mississippi State is playing some of its best basketball of the year. The Bulldogs have won three out of four and have a chance to even up their SEC record in Saturday's regular-season finale at Auburn.
So just how big would that be for MSU? How much of a shot in the arm would it be for the Bulldogs to defeat the Tigers and head into next week's league tourney as one of the hottest teams entering the event? State head coach Ben Howland knows.
"It'd be huge," Howland said. "It's what we're really shooting for, obviously."
For MSU to get what it wants, it'll just need recent trends to continue. While State has surged of late, Auburn has lost seven of its last nine games. Of course the past doesn't matter all that much when Saturday's game tips at noon.
"They're a very good team and it's going to be a very hard game," Howland said.
See below for how you can watch or listen to Saturday's game. To hear more from Howland, watch his full pre-Auburn media session with the video at the top of this page (with a transcript of the session below, provided by MSU media relations):
- What: Mississippi State (14-12, 8-9) at Auburn (12-14, 6-11)
- Where: Auburn Arena – Auburn, Alabama
- When: Noon central on Saturday, March 6, 2021
- TV/Video: SEC Network, Online via ESPN.com/ESPN App
- Radio/Audio: Mississippi State Sports Radio Network (click here for full list of affiliates), online at Hailstate.com and the TuneIn radio app
Comments from Ben Howland's 3-5-21 media session:
Question: How fortunate were you to get through the season healthy for the most part?
Ben Howland: “You know what, it’s amazing that I think us and Auburn; I know Auburn didn’t miss a game either … Coach Pearl and I were talking about that the other day. The only game we missed was because of weather with them [Auburn].”
“I was talking earlier that [missing the Auburn game] really helped us. Missing that game was a really important thing I thought for us to bounce back. Getting a couple of days off away from basketball, letting our bodies heal, mentally getting away and we’ve won three of our last four since that point.”
“But getting through this year has been amazing. You think about when we started a year ago, to having to not be able to go all the way in Nashville. Then, turning around and going home because we were not allowed to compete any longer. It was brutal. That was rough. So, it’s just special at all to be able to play this year, number one.”
“I thought our players – I’m so proud of our guys the way they’ve handled all the testing they’ve had to go through and the safe distancing they’ve had to follow ... taking care of themselves and masking up wherever they go. They’ve been phenomenal.”
Q: Have you ever had a player like Derek Fountain in your career where he wasn’t playing at all during conference to where he is now?
BH: “I actually did. I had a kid named Jaron Brown who was at the University of Pittsburgh out of Lexington, Kentucky. He went on to be a two-time All-BIG EAST player and played on three championship teams. He was a great player who is now coaching up in Lexington. But the same situation. Hardly played, played more than Derek did but not much more. Played some minutes but not much more. Same type of deal. I inserted him late in the year, I think last one or two conference games. Then, in the BIG EAST Tournament, I started him. It was a total difference for us. We went from being very average to getting the BIG EAST Championship game and then going to the NIT that year. So, to answer your question, I have had one. If he even gets as close to Jaron Brown, he’ll be really happy and so will everybody else.”
Q: What do you see from Auburn, and what do you expect from a matchup like that?
BH: “They’re very talented. We’re under the impression from what we’ve been told that Sharife Cooper is going to play tomorrow. He’s missed their last couple of games. He’s a huge difference in their team when he plays. He had missed the first nine or 10 games. Then, when he was inserted into the lineup, he changed everything for them. He led the league in assists and led the league in scoring. Great player, everything runs for him offensively. So, that really poses a lot of problems with him playing tomorrow. We’ve got to do a great job defensively on getting back in transition. We’ve got to do a great job of trying to stay in front of him on the ball screens and all the things they do to get him penetrating. We’ve got to keep them off the glass.”
“They’re a great offensive rebounding team. They’ve got very good personnel. [Allen] Flanigan, left hand shooter, whose dad was actually an assistant here for three years under Rick Ray. His son is now playing at Auburn, and he’s following in his dad’s footsteps. The kid’s a great player. He’s a potential pro down the road. They have another young man who I think is really special. [Devan] Cambridge, who’s a sophomore as well out of Tennessee. They’re a very young team. [Jaylin] Williams is a really good three-point shooter who starts at the five for them. JT Thor who’s 6-10, really long and can really shoot it. They have a lot of guys that can shoot the three.”
“Jamal Johnson, who started at the point [guard] when they beat Tennessee without Cooper two games ago. They beat a very good team in Tennessee without Cooper. They lost to Alabama with a close game when they played Alabama tough without Cooper. Now, he’s expected to back tomorrow for their last game of the year because they’re not eligible for the [SEC] tournament this year.”
Q: How big of a deal is to get a win at Auburn and keep the momentum rolling into the SEC Tournament next week?
BH: “It’d be huge. It’s really what we’re shooting for obviously. We are excited about the opportunity. They’re a very good team, and it’s going to be a very hard game. We’ve got to take care of the basketball. They really get out and pressure you and switch everything. They switch ball screens and switch a lot of different things [on defense]. They are really do a good job of that. We’re really going to have to execute well offensively to be successful because they’re so athletic and so quick.”
“Just the point of we’ve got five road wins in the conference right now. I think we’re 5-3 on the road. If we had taken care of business at home, we’d be in a better situation than we are. But this will give us a chance to get six road wins in the conference, which would be amazing.”
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