MSU Ends Streak, Beats Auburn 91-83

Mississippi State ended a 12 game SEC road losing streak on Saturday by beating Auburn 91-83 on their home court. The first half had all the indications that this game was going to be a continuation of the Bulldogs SEC road difficulties. It was close throughout, but Auburn led most of the way and scored the final 4 points of the the half to take a 47-43 halftime advantage.

The second half didn't start off much better as Auburn quickly jumped out to a 8 point lead, 57-49, their largest of the game. Mississippi State would then go on a 19-4 run, led by 11 points from Charles Rhodes, to find themselves up 68-61 with 11:24 to go. From here the team never looked back and were able to improve their record to 13-10(4-6) with the victory.

I was afraid the heartbreaking loss at Alabama would carry over to this game. Fortunately I was wrong. Rhodes led the way scoring 25 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. He still needs to be getting more like 9 or 10 rebounds a game, but I can live with it if he is scoring 25. Barry Stewart came out of his shooting slump to score 12 points on 4 3-pointers. That is very good to see as they are going to need production from him in these last six games. Lastly, Jamont Gordon had another terrific game following the loss at Alabama. Gordon scored 19 points, had 6 assists, and most importantly just 3 turnovers. This following a 27 point, 2 assist, 1 turnover game against Alabama. The points are nice, but what I like is the drop in turnovers. Jamont has really upped his play as the year has gone on. Ben Hansbrough's increased minutes at point guard are definitely a factor, as I've mentioned again and again, but he is also just becoming better with experience. Hopefully this will continue and he won't regress.

Important game coming up on Wednesday as Ervin U comes to town. Besides the return of Gary Ervin, its important for Miss. State's postseason chances. NCAAs is pretty much out of the picture but they still have a shot at the NIT. Also, State is very much in the picture for the West title, which comes with a SEC tournament bye. I don't know how much that would help, but take it if you can get it.