Auburn @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2019 ) Mississippi State 75, Auburn 80

Seventh-ranked Auburn is one of two undefeated teams in Division I as it visits Mississippi State on Saturday in the SEC opener for both teams, but coach Bruce Pearl is pumping the brakes on any talks of greatness. "We talked about making history. We clearly have," Pearl told reporters. "But I know where we're at. I know what kind of team we are. I know how good we are. We're not a top 10 team right now. We're ranked there, but we're just not."

The Tigers have played one true road game -- a 70-69 victory over South Alabama on Nov. 12 -- and are 4-0 in neutral-court contests. The Bulldogs closed out the main body of their non-conference schedule with a 96-68 victory over Kent State on Monday behind career highs of 26 points and 17 rebounds from sophomore forward Reggie Perry, and have won three of their last four games. "I felt like I was in the flow of the game early," Perry told the media. "I've had a hard time playing two good halves this year, and I got it done tonight. We started it all on the defensive end, and coach (Ben) Howland reminded us it starts on the defensive end." Saturday's game features the SEC's top rebounders in Perry (9.8 per game) and Auburn senior center Austin Wiley (9.5) while the Bulldogs (plus-7.9) and the Tigers (plus-7.4) are 1-2 in the conference in rebounding margin.

TIME: 4:30 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT AUBURN (12-0): Senior forward Danjel Purifoy averages 9.5 points and five rebounds after scoring a season-high 17 and matching a season high with nine boards in an 86-59 victory over Lipscomb on Sunday. "I think he's ready for the second half of the season," Pearl told reporters about Purifoy. "We've talked about the fact that we need him to be good. ..." Senior guard Samir Doughty averages a team-high 16.4 points while senior guard J'Von McCormick (10.6 points) paces the club with 5.7 assists -- fourth-most among SEC players.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-3): Perry and senior guard Tyson Carter each average a team-high 15.4 points, with Perry shooting 51.1 percent from the field -- 57.7 from two-point range -- and Carter also contributing a club-most 4.2 assists. Sophomore guard Robert Woodard II averages 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds but grabbed a total of seven boards in his last two games after pulling down 19 in the previous two contests. Junior guard Nick Weatherspoon has scored 18 points in 42 minutes over two contests since he was suspended for the first 10 games of the season because of a violation of team rules.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Tigers have won 23 of their last 24 games, losing to eventual national champion Virginia 63-62 in the Final Four.

2. Auburn owns a plus-1.7 turnover margin while the Bulldogs are at minus-1.2.

3. Mississippi State has won seven of the last eight meetings in Starkville, including a 92-84 victory last season.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 77, Auburn 76