It has been just over a week since Auburn earned its first conference win, but two conference losses and one suspension later, questions continue to bind head coach Tony Barbee and the men's basketball team (8-15).
It will be the 135th meeting between Mississippi State and Auburn with the Tigers holding a 70-64 series advantage.
Key players for the Bulldogs include junior guard Dee Bost, who scored nine and recorded one block in their win against Louisiana State University, and sophomore forward Renardo Sidney.
"Mississippi State is a very dangerous team, and they beat us pretty good in Starkville in January," Barbee said. "They have some very talented players in Ravren Johnson, Dee Bost, Renardo Sidney and Kodi Augustus. We are going to have our hands full. It will be another challenge, and we look forward to that challenge."
Bost is averaging 17.1 points per game, shooting .322 from 3-point range while Sidney averages 13.6 points per game, comes down with 6.5 rebounds per game and is shooting more than .500 from the field.
Bost is second on the team with 46 assists despite playing in just eight games and is also sixth in the assist/turnover ratio department.
The 6-foot-2 Concord, N.C., native is also just three points shy of becoming the 33rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points while his 390 assists are sixth most in Bulldog history.
Bost's best performances have come against Arkansas and Auburn, the Bulldogs' next two opponents, averaging 18.2 points against the Tigers and 17.5 against the Razorbacks.
Even going into the Jan. 16 Mississippi State game, Barbee praised Bost's performance and acknowledged his contributions.
"Bost is a leader and has been through the wars with them all last year," Barbee said. "Getting him back at the point guard kind of settled their team in. He runs the team well for them, and he can also score the ball and get Sidney the ball in the post where he loves to operate."
Auburn returns to the Arena after dropping a 81-72 overtime decision in Athens against the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday.
"It was a good college game," Barbee said after the game. "It was a great effort. I am proud of the way they fought. I didn't think we fought as a collective group in the last game, but I thought we did today. Give Georgia credit. They made the plays down the stretch when they needed to be made, and we didn't."
Auburn shot 42 percent from the field and scored a season-high nine 3-pointers.
Sophomore guard Earnest Ross paced the Tigers with 30 points against Georgia, including the final 12, and will need to continue this performance against Mississippi State, especially now that sophomore center Rob Chubb is suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.
"I thought we played hard and tough," Ross said following the game. "We battled and competed to the buzzer. We just couldn't pull it out. A lot of people made big shots in the game today, but it is the last piece that you need to put it together for the puzzle. That's what we didn't have."
Ross also recorded seven rebounds and had three steals in the loss while junior forward Kenny Gabriel scored 11 points and freshman guard Chris Denson scored 10.
Auburn is 1-8 in conference play and will have to win the rest of its conference games to finish with a .500 record.
Tip-off for the Mississippi State game is 6 p.m.
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