If Auburn hopes to extend its streak of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, it needs leading scorer Keyshawn Hall on the court. It appears that may just be the case come Wednesday.
Hall, who has been indefinitely suspended for undisclosed reasons, was not listed on the SEC availability report for the game, meaning he is expected to face Mississippi State on Wednesday night when the Tigers visit Starkville, Miss.
Auburn (14-11, 5-7 Southeastern Conference) has lost four straight overall and two consecutive road games. The Tigers dropped an 88-75 decision Saturday to Arkansas, a team that coach Steven Pearl’s squad dominated at home last month, 95-73.
Hall (20.7 ppg), Auburn’s leading scorer, had 32 points in that triumph, but he missed Saturday’s loss, as well as the last 12 and a half minutes of an 84-76 setback to Vanderbilt.
“When our guy that’s as good at attacking the paint as anybody in college basketball is not on the floor, it makes our points in the paint go down,” Pearl said. “That was probably the biggest difference, for me.”
Without Hall, Tahaad Pettitford (29 points, 7 assists) and KeShawn Murphy (career-high 22 points, 12 rebounds) combined to score 30 of Auburn’s 32 first-half points.
Pettitford shot 61.1% (11 of 18) from the field, and Murphy, who posted his fourth double-double, shot 56.3% (9 of 16), but the rest of the team shot just 21.9%.
Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8), which has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of coach Chris Jan’s first three years, has lost 8 of 10, including five straight at home.
However, the Bulldogs got 32 points and six assists from Josh Hubbard, 18 points and five rebounds from Achor Achor and 12 points and seven rebounds from Jayden Epps in a 90-78 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday.
“I was glad to see the shots going in,” Jans said.
Hubbard, who shot 75% (12 for 16) from the field, was the primary culprit as Mississippi State ended a three-game skid.
“He was getting to create his own angles, his own shots,” Jans said. “He got downhill a couple of times and didn’t get the call, but he was pretty aggressive, and I like when he does that.”
