Arkansas Back Home Wednesday to Host Auburn
Game Notes (PDF) | Mike Anderson Presser
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s basketball team (12-13, 5-7 SEC) opens a three-game homestand Wednesday evening, welcoming Auburn (9-15, 3-9 SEC) to town for a 6 p.m. tip-off in Bud Walton Arena on SEC Network.
Tip-off: Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. CT
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
TV: SEC Network | WatchESPN
Tickets: Click Here
The Opponent
• The Tigers are 9-15 on the year with a 3-9 record in SEC play. Auburn is coming off 86-57 loss against Vanderbilt on Saturday at home. The Tigers’ most notable win was a 75-70 victory over No. 14 Kentucky on Jan. 16. They then followed that up with a 83-77 win against Alabama on Jan. 19, but Auburn is on a seven-game losing streak ever since. Away from home, the Tigers are 2-10, including 0-6 in conference play.
• Leading scorer Kareem Canty played the first 21 games for Auburn and led the team with 18.3 points per game. However, he was suspended indefinitely and has since declared for the 2016 NBA Draft. Three other players, Tyler Harris (13.8), Cinmeon Bowers (10.9) and Bryce Brown (9.7) average in or around double digits for the Tigers. Shooting 9-for-27 per game, Auburn leads the SEC in three-pointers attempted and made per game, but only shoot 33.5 percent from deep, which is eighth in the conference. The Tigers are last in the league in scoring defense (77.6) and rebounding margin (-4.3).
• Head coach Bruce Pearl is in his second season with Auburn, and has a 24-35 (.407) record in one-plus seasons with the Tigers. In over 20 years as a collegiate head coach, Pearl has amassed 486 victories, with stops at Southern Indiana, Milwaukee and Tennessee before Auburn. With the Volunteers, he was National Coach of the Year in 2006 and SEC Coach of the Year in 2008. He has 17 NCAA Tournament berths and 10 Sweet Sixteen appearances.
#Fastest40 Facts
• The Razorbacks have seen seven of their 13 losses come by four points or fewer, including three of those in overtime.
• Arkansas leads the SEC and ranks No. 10 in the country in three-point field goal percentage at .407 and is on pace to break the school record of .395 set during the 1992-93 season.
• Anthlon Bell leads the SEC with a .463 three-point field goal percentage, while ranking second in three-pointers made with 74 on the year.
• The Razorbacks are one of five teams in the nation and the only high major program with three players averaging 15-plus points per game with Bell (16.2), Kingsley (16.0) and Hannahs (15.8).
• Arkansas is below .500 for the fifth time this year. A win against Auburn Wednesday would make the Razorbacks 5-0 in games after falling below .500 on the season.
• Arkansas and Michigan State are the only high major programs in the country with 60-plus made three-pointers by two different players as Bell (74) and Hannahs (61) continue to light up the #SplashZone.
• Moses Kingsley (12) and LSU’s Ben Simmons (17) are the only individuals in the SEC with 12-plus double-doubles on the year.
• Kingsley is one of nine high major players in the country with 12-plus double-doubles.
• The Abuja, Nigeria, native has been named one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation’s top center. He is the only high major player represented on the list.
• A made three-pointer against Auburn would be 900 straight games with at least one make from the #SplashZone. The streak dates back to Jan. 7, 1989.
#Series History
• Arkansas leads the all-time series 32-16, including winning each of the last eight meetings.
• Mike Anderson is 6-0 against the Tigers with a 3-0 mark in Bud Walton Arena.
• Arkansas has won five straight against Auburn in Fayetteville, last falling at home on Jan. 24, 2009 in a 73-51 decision.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Feb. 20, hosting Missouri for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on SEC Network. Former head coach Eddie Sutton will be recognized at halftime with a banner ceremony as Arkansas honors one of the all-time greats in the game of basketball. (Tickets)
For more information on Arkansas men’s basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.
