Takeaways from Auburn Basketball’s huge win vs. Arkansas

The Tigers routed No. 12 Arkansas Saturday night in a game they dominated from beginning to end.

Author:
Jeremy Robuck
Publish date:
Jan 7, 2023 11:00 PM EST

In this story:

The Auburn Tigers bounced back in a big way Saturday night in Neville Arena beating Arkansas by 13 is a statement win. Auburn jumped out in front early and refused to yield it. Coach Bruce Pearl out coached Eric Musselman in many ways, but the use of zone defense early really seemed to confuse the Razorbacks. Several Tigers had great games tonight, but it really was an all around team win. Here are a few takeaways from tonight’s game.

The Auburn Tigers are a really good team at home

Auburn is best when they are playing with emotion and this is more often the case at home. Auburn is 74-4 at home in the last 5 years winning their last 27 straight. Auburn hasn’t lost a home game in over a calendar year. Say what you want about this Auburn team, but they can really play at home. If every game were in Auburn the Tigers would likely win the SEC and compete for a national title.

Wendell Green Jr. was fantastic tonight

Green scored 12 points in the first half tonight hitting his first two three’s early and playing with a lot of heart. Green has had a bad month, but he has what it takes to be great and was that tonight. He dominated this game. His poor play of late may be a major factor in the teams poor play the last few weeks. If he can turn it around and be his best self the Tigers may climb back into the top 15 and stay there.

Johni Broome may be Auburn’s best player

At times out there it looks as if Broome is playing great and doing what he’s supposed to and is the only one. Broome has been consistent on offense as of late. He is also starting to look like the leader of the defense. Broome had 6 blocks tonight. His confidence and ownership of the team increasing is certainly good to see. Auburn also appears to be running more of their offense through him. Auburn has been struggling when Broome is off the floor.

Auburn continues to be amazing on defense

Watching Auburn play defense really is a beautiful thing. The Tigers won this game on defense. The steals and blocks led to momentum and offense. Arkansas got punched in the mouth a lot tonight and just couldn’t figure out how to respond. When you combine suffocating defense with the power of playing at home poor Arkansas really didn’t have a chance tonight.

Finally, here are some twitter reactions and highlights from tonight’s game