Mississippi State
13-13,5-8SEC
Auburn
14-12,5-8SEC
The Final Horn: State 91, Auburn 85
February 18, 2026 | Men's Basketball
THE BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State pulled off a thrilling 91-85 victory over Auburn on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum behind a historic performance from Josh Hubbard. Hubbard set the school record for 3-pointers in a single game with 10 of them, as well as total scoring in a conference game with 46 points.
The Bulldogs came out hot with Hubbard splashing three early triples to hoist State to a 21-6 lead. Auburn was able to briefly stop the bleeding before Hubbard added two more 3-pointers and a fastbreak layup to rekindle a 29-18 lead. From there, State held its ground to close out the first half with a 49-33 advantage.
After the Bulldogs led by as many as 18, Auburn began to dig into State's lead. Auburn cut its deficit to just two at 56-54 with 12:04 remaining. The Tigers eventually seized their first lead of the contest at the 8:50 mark of the second half, 64-63. The momentum remained with Auburn over the next several minutes as the Tigers knocked down back-to-back threes to take an 80-73 lead with 3:56 left in regulation.
At the 1:11 mark, State scored five straight with Hubbard tying the game at 82-82 on a fastbreak layup. After Auburn took the lead with a free throw, Hubbard buried his 10th triple of the game to give State an 85-83 edge. Then, after multiple blocks and defensive stops, Ja'Borri McGhee and Shawn Jones Jr. made two free throws each to extend the lead back to six. The Tigers made a layup on the other end, but it was too little too late as the Bulldogs escaped with the big win.
KEY NUMBERS: The story of the night for State was Hubbard's dominant offensive showing, breaking numerous records in the process. His first half set the tone. In the first 20 minutes alone, Hubbard scored 35 points and made nine 3-pointers. He now owns the most points scored in a first half by a player in Division I since 2020. Hubbard's 46 total points set a new career high and was only one point short of tying MSU legend Bailey Howell's all-time single game scoring record of 47, which was set in the 1958-59 season.
NEXT UP FOR MSU: The Bulldogs look to continue their momentum as they travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is set for noon CT, and the game will be aired on SEC Network.
