Auburn @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 13, 2018 ) Auburn 76, Mississippi State 68

Auburn and Mississippi State cruised through the majority of their non-conference schedules playing every bit like the ranked teams they were for the first two months of the season, but the SEC has been able to humble both teams in the early going. A pair of squads scrambling to get back to .500 in conference action square off Saturday when the 15th-ranked Tigers visit the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs.

Mississippi State won 12 of its 13 non-conference contests before difficult back-to-back losses to upstart rivals South Carolina and Ole Miss put coach Ben Howland's team in an early hole. The Bulldogs recovered with consecutive wins, but an 18-7 run by No. 9 Kentucky midway through the second half Tuesday broke open a two-point game and led to a 76-55 road setback - one in which Mississippi State set season lows in points and field-goal percentage (31.1). The Tigers, who won 11 of 13 in non-conference action, overcame a 17-point deficit last Saturday against Kentucky only to fall 82-80, and dug themselves out of a 10-point hole Tuesday before dropping an 80-77 decision at South Carolina. "That's just the SEC. We have four out of our first six on the road and one of our home games against Kentucky. That's a pretty tough way to start the league. So it's going to be a grind. … You have to be able to fight through some adversity," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT AUBURN (13-5, 2-3, SEC): Bryce Brown (team-high 16.9 points) was unable to follow up his highly efficient 28-point performance against Kentucky (8-for-9 from the field, 6-for-7 beyond the arc, 6-of-6 from the foul line), finishing 4-for-11 from the floor en route to 17 points Tuesday. Jared Harper (15.3) is shooting only 39.2 percent for the season, but he has tallied at least 17 points in four straight while connecting on 44.4 percent of his field-goal attempts. The Tigers sorely missed big man Austin Wiley (10.8 points, 6.1 rebounds) against South Carolina, as the Gamecocks' Carlos Silva exploded for career highs in points (32) and rebounds (14); a 6-11 junior, Wiley has already been sidelined two games and is expected to miss at least a couple more with a lower right leg injury.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (14-4, 2-3): Quinndary Weatherspoon (16.8 points, 5.7 rebounds) is the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,685 career points and is one of five SEC players to eclipse the 20-point mark six times this season. Second-leading scorer Lamar Peters (12.8 points) has totaled 12 points over the last two contests after topping 15 in each of the team's first three league games. The Bulldogs boast the conference's top shot-blocking duo in Aric Holman (2.2 blocks) and sophomore Abdul Ado (1.8); Holman swatted two shots against Kentucky after getting shut out in his previous two outings, while Ado recorded three blocks and needs only six more to become the 10th player in school history with 100 for his career.

TIP-INS

1. Auburn and Mississippi State's three conference losses have come against the same opponents: Kentucky, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

2. Bulldogs G Tyson Carter has reached double figures in 12 of 18 games off the bench, but Tuesday marked the first time Mississippi State lost a game in 12 tries this season in which he scored at least 10 points.

3. The Tigers force an SEC-high 19.1 turnovers - tied for fourth in Division I - but haven't reached that mark in conference action. They forced a season-low 11 versus the Gamecocks.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 72, Auburn 71