Auburn, Ala- Auburn wasn’t perfect, but still dominated Razorbacks thanks to season high seventeen threes in game.
Auburn left no guessing as to which team would show up as the Tigers came out hot hitting four of their first five three point attempts. This excellent start shooting was capped off with an electrifying alley oop from Harper to Brown that excited the crowd and gave Auburn an early 14-1 lead at the first timeout with 16:11 left in the first half.
The great start on offense was matched by an equally great start on defense as the Razorbacks missed their first eight shots. The Razorbacks first field goal wouldn’t come till almost halfway through the first half. Malik Dunbar was the early catalyst for Auburn’s success with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal in the first seven minutes of game time. This was Dunbar’s first start of the year.
Auburn’s stingy defense suffocated the Razorbacks, holding them to just three points by the second timeout with 11:50 left in the half. The Tigers forced seven turnovers in the first ten minutes of game time. The only trouble the Tigers had on defense was with fouls as Auburn had 7 fouls before the ten minute mark in the half. The Tigers also struggled hitting their free throws, starting just 4-10 from the line.
The offense went on pause after Brown hit a three to give Auburn a 32-9 lead. Both teams struggled after Brown’s three, with Arkansas missing six straight field goals and Auburn missing four in a row. Auburn would get back to their scoring ways, going on a 13-0 run that was capped off by a Samir Doughty &1 to give Auburn a 39-9 lead with 4:23 left in the half, their largest lead of the first half.
The Tigers ended a dominating first half with a block at the buzzer by McLemore to help preserve their 45-20 lead. The Tigers shot an electrifying 52.6 percent from three, but were only able to hit 7-14 free-throws. Both teams struggled with turnovers in the half, Arkansas giving up eleven while Auburn gave up eight. Dunbar lead the team with 8 points and 4 rebounds in the half while Harper lead the team with 3 assists. The Tigers held Arkansas to just 26.7 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from three.
McLemore would hit the first field goal of the second half for the Tigers, draining a three at the top of the key to give the Tigers a 49-22 lead. After a McLemore jumper and an Okeke three, the Tigers found themselves with their biggest lead of the game, up 54-22 by the first timeout of the half. After the timeout, the Tigers offense would sputter, going three-and-a-half minutes without a field goal and turning the ball over six times.
Brown would get the Tigers going again, hitting a jumper in the paint followed by a transition three. The Tigers would go into the second timeout of the half up 60-33 with 11:29 left in the half. While the Tigers may have struggled for a bit on offense their defense did not as they held the Razorbacks to just 4-12 shooting before the second media timeout.
The Tigers foul trouble would continue into the second half, with the Razorbacks being in the double bonus with 8:42 left in the half. The Tigers offense seemed to be sputtering until a McLemore dunk got the team and the fans back in the game with 7:23 left. Just as with the rest of the game, while the offense struggled the defense did not. Arkansas did not score a field goal for four minutes, their only points coming from the free-throw line. The Razorbacks had a chance to end the drought, but a missed dunk by Gafford added insult to injury.
With three minutes left and Auburn up 77-49, both teams coasted till the end of the game. Auburn would substitute in many of the walk-ons, unfortunately none of them would score. The last points came from Arkansas as the final score would end up being 79-56.
The Tigers shot lights out from three, hitting 51.5 percent from behind the arc. Brown would lead the team in scoring with 18 points on 6-10 shooting. Brown also hit five of his eight shots beyond the arc. McLemore had a fantastic night with 13 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 5-7 from the field.
Coach Bruce Pearl was excited about the victory: emphasizing how tough this league was, and stressing the importance going into the toughest part of the teams schedule. Coach Pearl was still worried about the teams 20 total turnovers and 11-21 shooting from the free throw line.
Auburn moves to 18-8 (7-6) and look to carry some momentum from this dominating win as they take on Kentucky this Saturday in Rupp Arena (12:30 PM CT).
