The 22 game road-losing streak is over. The Mississippi State University Bulldogs (9-9) defeated the Auburn University Tigers (10-8) Wednesday night 78-71. The win came after MSU finished off a come-from-behind win over the Vanderbilt University Commodores 57-54 last Saturday.  This was the Bulldogs’ first road win in over two years. Their last came in a 72-61 win at Georgia on Jan. 12, 2013.
The Bulldogs were down 29-18 with a little more than 19 minutes left in the game against the Commodores. According to kenpom.com MSU had less than a five percent chance of pulling out the victory. The game turned for the Bulldog’s favor when Fred Thomas hit a three pointer after being fouled which led to a four-point play and a momentum swing.
 “We got to the free throw line and made more free throws than they shot,” Head Coach Rick Ray said. “The free throws and rebounds were important.”
In the past two seasons under Ray, MSU has struggled rebounding the basketball, but this season, with a healthy roster, Gavin Ware has been able to reach his potential in the low post. Ware scored six points and hauled in 13 rebounds against Vanderbilt, and he scored 16 points and pulled down 17 rebounds against the Tigers.
Ware and I.J. Ready paced the Bulldogs in their win over the Tigers. Ready finished the game tying his career high mark of 18 points and had a career high of eight rebounds.
“Big games by Gavin Ware and IJ Ready,” digital media reporter for hailstate.com Bob Carskadon tweeted after the game. “That’s the kind of team Rick Ray thinks he has.”
The Bulldogs forced the Tigers into 12 turnovers, which led to 21 points, and held the Tigers to shoot 40. 3 percent from the floor.
“We did what we wanted to do defensively in the first half,” Ray said. “In the second half, it got away from us for a little while. We knew they would put their head down and drive, and it is hard to defend a team playing out of desperation.”
Auburn made half of the shot attempts it took, but it was not enough to overcome the lead MSU had built in the first half.
MSU returns home to play the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday at 2 p.m. Georgia has won three conference games and has lost two by only a combined seven points. Georgia does not force many turnovers, which can play into a big advantage for MSU. Mississippi State turns the ball over at a higher rate than 334 other college basketball teams.
Senior Marcus Thornton leads the charge for Georgia averaging 14.1 points per game and bringing in 7.4 rebounds per game. The matchup between the suddenly surging Ware and Thornton will be the key matchup. Each team focuses on getting the ball inside to draw in defenders hoping to open up shooters on the perimeter. UGA does not have a very deep bench, and it will rely heavily on the starters if MSU allows. 
MSU will need to find ways to spring Junior Craig Sword toward the basket and get players like Thornton into foul trouble early. MSU had success with such tactics against the Commodores. Damien Jones got a few quick fouls against MSU in the second and was less effective; he had to tone down his aggressive play. 
The crowd came on strong late against the Commodores. The fans at Humphrey Coliseum got behind the basketball team after being dormant most of the season. The players and Ray believed the crowd was instrumental in helping propel the Bulldogs to victory. 
“(I) would like to acknowledge the fans,” Ray said after the win over Vanderbilt. “The student body was great. Our crowd was special, and it really helped out guys through some tough times.”