“If you can’t beat them join them”: College hoops fans react as Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy commits to Bruce Pearl’s Auburn

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round Practice - Raleigh - Source: Imagn

Auburn has landed star forward KeShawn Murphy via the transfer portal, joining from their SEC rivals, Mississippi State, in a move that has got fans of both teams reacting differently.

Murphy entered the transfer portal on April 9 and was the 36th-best player available in the portal per 247Sports.

According to On3's Joe Tipton, the forward committed to the Tigers on Tuesday, opting to play his last year of eligibility at Neville Arena.

Fans reacted to this news on Tipton’s Instagram account, with Auburn faithfuls hyped about the move.

“Man, U just made my whole day,” a fan wrote

“Yay!! great news!!,” another fan wrote

“Dang we getting a lot of skyscrapers,” a hyped Auburn fan wrote

College hoops fans react as Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy commits to Auburn. Credit: IG/@tiptonedits

However, others had mixed reactions to the news.

“If you can’t beat em join em,” a user wrote

“Loyalty doesn’t exist nowadays,” another user wrote

“That’s so lame bro that’s so lame,” someone else wrote

With 2025 Sporting News Player of the Year Johni Broome declaring for the NBA draft and starting center Dylan Cardwell running out of eligibility, Murphy’s arrival is set to help cushion the effect.

The 6-foot-10 forward was at Mississippi State for three seasons, averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in that period.

However, 2024-25 was his breakout year, averaging a career-high 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who finished ninth in the SEC conference. Murphy ranked top five for rebounding rate and points made inside the arc in the SEC.

Having won the SEC regular season and reached the Final Four last season, Auburn is looking to go all the way in 2025-26, and Murphy’s skill set will be key to achieving this.

Bruce Pearl drops one-word reaction to KeShawn Murphy's transfer

The Auburn head coach, Bruce Pearl, reacted to KeShawn Murphy's arrival by dropping a cryptic message on social media.

"Boom," Pearl wrote on X after the move was confirmed

Pearl has always been a fan of the forward, notably praising his improvement after the Tigers beat Mississippi State 88-66 back in January.

About the author

Babatunde Kolawole is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience in the field with Canoncrested.com, Garbersports.com, LiveScore Bet Nigeria and Pulse Sports Nigeria.

Kolawole studied Agricultural Economics on the tertiary level but delved into sports writing after school. Over half a decade later, the experience garnered helped him land this role.

Historically, the Alabama Crimson Tide stands out as Kolawole's favorite team as he was drawn to their rich history.

As for basketball, JuJu Watkins is Kolawole's favorite current player due to how much diversity she has in her game, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the nod for past players because of how he dominated with UCLA.

Kolawole has appeared on several TV and Radio shows as a guest analyst, and in his spare time, likes to watch movies (a sucker for the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and listen to a lot of music. He also loves to travel.

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Edited by Alvin Amansec