THE Auburn Tigers lost its fourth straight basketball game Saturday night in an 88-75 loss to No. 21. Arkansas.
The loss now puts Auburn at 5-7 in conference play with an overall record of 14-11. The Tigers will now have to face some must-win games if they want to make the NCAA tournament next month. For Arkansas, the win improves its overall record to 19-6 and 9-3 in the SEC.
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Here are five takeaways that define the Tigers’ road loss Saturday night.
Kevin Overton struggled
It was obvious the Tigers missed Keyshawn Hall’s presence on the field against the Razorbacks. Hall leads the team with 20.7 points per game and in the first meeting against Arkansas, he scored 32 points in a victory. With him not playing, Auburn needed other players to step up. Tahaad Pettiford scored 29 and KeShawn Murphy scored 22, but the Tigers couldn’t find a third scorer. Kevin Overton was supposed to be that player, but he only scored five points in the game and couldn’t find his 1-of-13 shot from the floor.
Auburn lost the paint battle
The Razorbacks dominated the game with points in the paint with a 52-34 advantage. Arkansas scored 16 layups and had eight dunks. This was another area where Hall was lacking. A lot of his game involves driving to the basket to get layups or create free throw opportunities. For Arkansas, only 21 points came from the front court, allowing the Razorbacks’ guards to make an impact near the basket.
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Razorbacks guard play
Speaking of Arkansas’ guards, they had great performances from Darius Acuff Jr. and Billy Richmond III. The two guards combined for a total of 56 points. They were very efficient from the floor shooting 22 of 30 and Acuff was 7 of 10 from the three point line. Both players did well making plays for their teammates and combining for seven assists.
Murphy’s great first half
Auburn did well in the first half keeping the game close despite being shorthanded. KeShawn Murphy scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half on 8 of 12 shooting. Pettiford also started early with 12 points in the first half. At 6:46 of the half, Auburn trailed 30-20 before running to pull within two. Pettiford scored on a layup with 5:19 on the clock, and Murphy followed to make it 30-28. The halftime score would be 38-32 in favor of Arkansas.
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Arkansas wins in the second half
Auburn entered the half with positive momentum, but the Razorbacks put that aside. Arkansas went on a 15-2 run to start the second half to increase the lead to 53-34 with 15:12 left in the second half after a three by Acuff. They would outscore Auburn 50-43 in the second half to earn the victory. The Razorbacks would lead for 85% of the game and led at one point by 21 points.
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This article was originally published on Auburn Wire: Auburn basketball’s five takeaways from loss to Arkansas
