Auburn men’s basketball came into Tuesday night’s clash against Mississippi State with a target on its back and missing its best player, Johni Broome.

That didn’t end the run of dominance, though, as the Tigers cruised to an 88-66 win over the Bulldogs, improving to 16-1 overall and 4-0 in Southeastern Conference play.

It was a showcase of Auburn’s depth, defense and raucous homecourt advantage, three things that helped the Tigers win their ninth straight.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s game:

No Broome, no problem

Beating Mississippi State would have been difficult at full strength. The task became even tougher when Auburn learned it would be without its best player.

While Broome’s absence was felt, the Tigers had more than enough to compensate for the loss. Chaney Johnson was Broome’s replacement in the starting lineup and he did his best to fill the void, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The offense looked different, unable to play inside out as effectively, but that did not stop Auburn from being its normal, efficient self.

Johnson’s presence inside was huge in Broome’s place and Auburn got excellent perimeter play from players like Chad Baker-Mazara and Tahaad Pettiford, who finished with 20 and 12 points respectively.

What stood out most about how Auburn succeeded without Broome was on defense. Playing a smaller lineup than usual, the Tigers blocked 10 shots and held Mississippi State to 35% from the field.

Game of runs

One thing that has made Auburn especially hard to beat this season is its ability to heat up quickly and go on long, crushing runs.

Auburn went on three separate runs of 10-0, 13-1 and 7-0 in the first half against Mississippi State, helping extend the Tigers’ lead to 19 going into the break.

Once that happens, it’s far from ideal to have to play from behind against the No. 1 team in the country, especially when it has an electric crowd behind it.

Baker-Mazara was instrumental in those runs, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers in the 10-0 run to start the game and making a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to end the half on a 7-0 run.

Mississippi State had some good spells in the second half, but the early deficit proved insurmountable.

Defensive showcase

Auburn was dominant defensively Tuesday night.

The Tigers held the Bulldogs to 66 points, 35% shooting from the field and blocked 10 shots. In the first half, Auburn had as many blocked shots (9) as Mississippi State made field goals.

That’s extra impressive when considering Auburn had a smaller lineup than usual with Broome out. The rim protection was largely a credit to Johnson and starting center Dylan Cardwell.

The pair combined for six blocks and Mississippi State’s two starting bigs — Cameron Matthews and Michael Nwoko — combined for six points on 3-for-15 shooting.

Auburn also kept Mississippi State’s most prolific scorer quiet. Josh Hubbard came into the game averaging 17 points per game, but didn’t make his first field goal until the 8:09 mark of the second half.

The defensive success may get overshadowed by what Auburn did offensively without Broome, but how the Tigers adjusted defensively was equally impressive.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m