No. 1 Auburn overcomes a rough offensive performance to beat Arkansas 67-60
Johni Broome leads with 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Tigers end on a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter to defeat the Razorbacks, 67-60.
AUBURN, Ala. — — Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 1 Auburn overcame a rough offensive performance to beat Arkansas 67-60 on Wednesday night.
After winning at Alabama on Saturday in a game between the top teams in the poll, Auburn (24-2, 12-1 Southeastern Conference) avoided its second straight home loss.
Chad Baker-Mazara added 15 points for the Tigers, and Chaney Johnson had 14.
Adou Thiero led Arkansas (15-11, 4-9) with 16. Johnell Davis had 14.
The teams combined to hit seven of 43 3-point attempts.
Takeaways
Arkansas: The Razorbacks showed some early signs of life on offense, but they couldn’t maintain their hot start from the field. John Calipari’s team has struggled with scoring consistently in SEC play, and that continued Wednesday night.
Auburn: This was not a clean game from Auburn, which had an uncharacteristically off performance in 3-point shooting, ball security and rim defense. While the Tigers tightened up later, Bruce Pearl’s team has played much more complete games at home this season.
Key moment
After Arkansas took a one-point lead with 3:06 to play, Auburn went on a 6-0 run and held on for the victory.
Key stat
With its jumpers not falling as much as usual, Auburn needed 16 second-chance points off of 13 offensive rebounds. Arkansas had four offensive rebounds and three second-chance points.
Up next
On Saturday, Arkansas returns home to face No. 15 Missouri, and Auburn hosts Georgia.
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Game Information
2024-25 Southeastern Conference Standings
Men’s College Basketball News
| 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARK | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| AUB | 33 | 34 | 67 |
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 12-1 | – | 24-2 |
| Florida | 10-3 | 2 | 23-3 |
| Alabama | 10-3 | 2 | 21-5 |
| Texas A&M | 9-4 | 3 | 20-6 |
| Missouri | 9-4 | 3 | 20-6 |
| Tennessee | 8-5 | 4 | 21-5 |
| Ole Miss | 8-5 | 4 | 19-7 |
| Mississippi State | 7-6 | 5 | 19-7 |
| Kentucky | 7-6 | 5 | 18-8 |
| Vanderbilt | 5-8 | 7 | 17-9 |
| Texas | 5-8 | 7 | 16-10 |
| Georgia | 4-9 | 8 | 16-10 |
| Arkansas | 4-9 | 8 | 15-11 |
| Oklahoma | 3-10 | 9 | 16-10 |
| LSU | 3-10 | 9 | 14-12 |
| South Carolina | 0-13 | 12 | 10-16 |
NO. 1 AUBURN WELCOMES ARKANSAS WITH ‘A LOT ON THE LINE’
#1 Auburn vs. Arkansas
AUBURN, Ala. – After earning Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors for helping No. 1 Auburn earn road wins at Vanderbilt and No. 2 Alabama, Denver Jones gets another opportunity to display his defensive and offensive skills Wednesday against Arkansas.
Jones, the SEC player of the week, averaged 18.5 points to help the Tigers defeat the Commodores and the Crimson Tide while holding both teams’ leading scorers to 32.1-percent shooting from the field and 18.8 percent from 3-point range.
“Denver had a great week, but Denver’s had great weeks before,” Auburn coach Bruce sPearl said. “We think we’ve got some really good defensive guards. Denver is our leader in that category. That’s huge to be recognized as the national player of the week.”
Two-thirds of the way through the 18-game SEC schedule, Auburn can remain in sole possession of first place with a win over the Razorbacks.
After an 0-5 start to conference play, the Razorbacks have hit their stride of late, including a win at Kentucky in John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena, and victories over Texas on the road and LSU at home.
“Arkansas is talented enough and good enough to beat anybody in our league,” Pearl said. “They’ve obviously proven it. Right now, Arkansas is playing some of their best basketball.”
The top-ranked Tigers (23-2, 11-1) host Arkansas (15-10, 4-8) Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will provide play-by-play and analysis for listeners on the Auburn Sports Network.
“Our guys understand that Arkansas understands the prize that is on these 40 minutes and what a win for them would do,” said Pearl, noting that an Arkansas win would move the Razorbacks off the NCAA Tournament bubble and into the projected field. “Obviously a lot on the line. We’re trying to play to continue to be in position to win a championship.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer
