Bulldogs Look To Get Back On Track At Auburn

After dropping two straight games for the first time this season, Mississippi State looks to get back into the win-column on Saturday at long-time foe Auburn.

Tip at Auburn Arena is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised by Fox Sports South, with Dave Neal and Larry Conley handling the broadcast.

“Auburn is one of the more improved teams in the league this year, and they’ve played awfully well at home,” 14th-year MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “We’ve had some tough losses lately, and we’ve got to find a way to win.”

After losing at home to Georgia in overtime last Saturday, No. 23 Mississippi State (19-7, 6-5) fell again in overtime Tuesday at LSU, marking the first time the Bulldogs have suffered back-to-back losses this season.

On the year, MSU is now 1-2 in overtime affairs.

“We’ve got to learn from these losses and move on,” senior point guard Dee Bost said. “We can’t dwell on the past. We have to look at it as a new season that starts at Auburn.”

Two weeks ago at Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs held on to beat Auburn, 91-88.

MSU shot a season-best 60.4 percent (29/48) from the floor and drained 12 of its 19 3-point attempts. Arnett Moultrie paced MSU with 21 points, while Renardo Sidney added 17, followed by Bost with 15 and Jalen Steele with 13.

Auburn’s Varez Ward poured in 24 points, while Kenny Gabriel had 22.

Heading into Saturday’s showdown, Moultrie leads MSU in scoring (16.5), while his 10.8 rebounds and 14 double-doubles are tops. Frankie Sullivan leads the Tigers with his 12.4 clip, followed by Gabriel at 12.2.

Auburn enters the contest with a 12-9 record overall and a 2-5 mark in SEC play, following last Saturday’s setback at Ole Miss, 61-54.

In this series, four of the last five games have been decided by 10 points or less, while the Tigers have won three in a row on the Plains.

After Saturday, MSU returns to action at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at home against top-ranked Kentucky on ESPN.