AUBURN — Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl couldn't have praised Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard much more.

Pearl called the former four-star recruit the best freshman in the SEC on Friday, and he described him as "Dalton Knecht-dangerous." That compliment came two days after Tennessee's Knecht lit the Tigers up for 39 points in a result that virtually knocked the Tigers out of SEC title contention.

Auburn made Hubbard look like anyone but Knecht in the first half Saturday. The Tigers did some of their best defensive work of the season to earn a 78-63 win in Neville Arena.

Hubbard, who entered the contest averaging 33 points on 48.8% shooting over his last two games, scored three points on 16.7% shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The talented shot-maker did eventually get his, dropping 20 points in the second half to put a brief scare into the Tigers.

Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) remains in a good spot to secure a top-four seed in the conference tournament, and it avoided falling victim to a sweep; the Bulldogs (19-10, 8-8) beat the Tigers in Starkville on Jan. 27.

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Auburn basketball puts the clamps on Mississippi State

The defensive showcase the Tigers put on early wasn't limited to Hubbard. Mississippi State only mustered .688 points per possession in the first half. That's the second-lowest mark Auburn has held an SEC team to in a half this season; only the opening 20 minutes against Texas A&M (.667) was better.

Preseason All-SEC center Tolu Smith was held to four first-half points. Smith, like Hubbard, was able to get it going in the second half to tune of 10 points.

Welcome back, Tre Donaldson

Tre Donaldson hadn't made a shot in three games. He got two to go down against the Bulldogs, and he added six assists while running the offense off the bench.

A new starting lineup

Auburn opened the game with a lineup of Aden Holloway, Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome. It's the seventh unique starting lineup of the season. Broome registered a team-high 17 points.

Next on Auburn basketball's schedule

The Tigers will play a true road game for the final time this season, taking on Missouri at Mizzou Arena on Tuesday (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network).

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball suffocates Mississippi State in win at Neville Arena