MSU Faces Auburn In Opening Game Of SEC Tournament
Nashville, Tenn. – Bridgestone Arena – 6 p.m. CT
TV: SECN
TV Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Darrin Horn (analyst), Kaylee Hartung (sideline)
MSU Radio Talent: Jim Ellis (pxp), Richard Williams (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 93/XM 190
Twitter Updates: @HailStateMBK
Series Information
Series Record: Auburn leads, 73-68
At Mississippi State: MSU leads, 42-25
At Auburn: Auburn leads, 45-23
Neutral Site: 3-3
Last Meeting: MSU 78-71 (2015)
Streak: MSU +1
Rick Ray vs. Auburn: 3-1
The 6 p.m. CT tilt at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville will be televised on the SEC Network, with Dave Neal, Darrin Horn and Kaylee Hartung handling the broadcast. Jim Ellis and Richard Williams will have the call on the MSU Radio Network.
The Bulldogs are 29-51 all-time in the tournament, 2-2 under third-year MSU coach Rick Ray.
“I think what you want to see is a progression. For us, we like to get to a situation where we win the first game and now win the second game,” Ray said. “It shows a progression for us and where the program is going. Obviously the first step is beating Auburn that is more than capable of beating us. To me, when you go to a SEC Tournament everyone is back to being 0-0 and so you have a situation here where every young man grows up wanting to play in the NCAA tournament and for us in our situation the only way to make that dream a reality is to win the SEC tournament. So that should be inspiration enough.”
MSU (13-18, 6-12) enters the tournament as the No. 12 seed after earning a 52-43 win in its regular-season finale against Missouri. The Bulldogs held the Tigers to their second lowest point total of the season and held an SEC opponent under 50 points for the first time since 2008.
Craig Sword, who was named second team All-SEC on Tuesday, paced Rick Ray’s squad with 15 points and leads the team with an 11.0 scoring clip on the season. Sword has scored at least 15 points in six of his last seven games and is averaging 14.4 points a game in SEC play.
The Tigers (12-19, 4-14) head into Wednesday’s clash on a six-game losing streak after suffering a 64-61 defeat against Georgia on Saturday. Bruce Pearl’s team boasts the conference’s leading scorer in K.T. Harrell, who averages 18.1 points per game.
The schools met at Auburn Arena on Jan. 21, and MSU turned in one of its most impressive performances of the season in a 78-71 victory. I.J. Ready tallied 18 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Gavin Ware recorded 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
Mississippi State and Auburn have not met in the SEC Tournament since 1996 when the Maroon and White claimed in 69-58 win in New Orleans. MSU holds a 2-1 all-time lead against the Tigers in SEC Tourney games.
The winner of Wednesday’s matchup will advance to play fifth-seeded Texas A&M in the second round on Thursday. Tip-off for that contest is set for approximately 2:25 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.