Basketball Returns to Auburn Arena to face tough Arkansas Team

Bryce Brown (2) against Tennessee on January 31. (Photo: Auburn Athletics/Wade Rackley)

Auburn Men’s Basketball (17-11, 6-9 SEC) returns to Auburn Arena this Saturday for a tough test against the Arkansas Razorbacks (21-7, 10-5) at 7:30 P.M. Auburn pulled away in the second half of their mid-week game against LSU on Tuesday to win 98-75 in Baton Rouge. After leading 45-42 at the break, the Tigers held LSU to 33 points in the second half to seal the win. Ronnie Johnson was sent to the free-throw line with 11:14 remaining. His second successful free-throw of the set moved Auburn ahead 64-54, and their lead would not dip below 10 points for the remainder of the game. Auburn led by as much as 26 points in the second half. The win was key for the program, as well as the Bruce Pearl era. That was Auburn’s 17th win of the season, which guaranteed a winning season for the first time since the 2008-09 team that finished 24-12. In the game, Johnson continued his streak of bench contribution by leading the team in points with 17, with four more reaching double figures. Austin Wiley and Anfernee McLemore nearly added themselves to that list, by scoring 9. The key players in the game were TJ Dunans and Danjel Purifoy, who collected 7 rebounds in addition to their double-digit output. Arkansas enters the game on a four-game winning streak, averaging 81.1 points per game. A stat to keep an eye on is their record when scoring 80 points in a contest, which they have done 14 times this season. In all 14 games, they have yet to lose. The Hogs last loss came at the hands of Vanderbilt on February 7. Since then, Arkansas has won four straight, including an upset of #21 South Carolina, 83-76 on the road. In their last game, Arkansas limited their turnovers, while taking advantage of their opponents’. Texas A&M turned the basketball over 17 times, with Arkansas scoring 21 points off of those. Arkansas also visited the free-throw line 27 times, with 22 successful attempts. Four Arkansas players enter the game with double-digit averages, led by Dusty Hannahs’ 14.5 per game. Moses Kingsley leads in rebounds with 7.8, and in assists with 2.7. Auburn faces Arkansas Saturday night at 7:30 P.M. inside Auburn Arena.