Critical road contest looms

Coming off a splendid victory over No. 22 Kentucky, the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team must back the performance up on the road as it travels to Auburn, Ala., to take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 12;47 p.m.

Arkansas (17-10, 6-7 SEC) is looking to earn the No. 2 seed in the SEC’s Western Division at the conference tournament and to do so will likely need to win two of its last three games. The Razorbacks’ have won three of their last four contests including two in SEC play and had SEC West leader Alabama on the ropes deep into the second half before eventually splitting the season series with the Crimson Tide.

The Razorbacks used the inside-outside combination of Rotnei Clarke and Marshawn Powell to secure the victory over Kentucky. Clarke buried a game high 26 points for the Hogs while Powell picked up his second double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Despite the efforts of the two, it was the Razorback defense that was even better as it held strong late. Senior Marcus Britt even picked up the game’s biggest play as he was credited with a steal and then got the ball back after racing down the court to hit the game-winning shot with 17 seconds to play.

Auburn (9-18, 2-11 SEC) has lost four of its last five games, but has been pretty good at home, especially of late, throughout the season. The Tigers upended Mississippi State, 65-62 to pick up their second conference win, coming back from a huge deficit to do so and have other home wins against Florida State, Grambling, Georgia Southern and Middle Tennessee State to name a few.

In the first meeting between the two schools, Arkansas walked away with a 73-64 victory at Bud Walton Arena in late January. Four Razorbacks scored in double figures in the game, led by Rotnei Clarke and Julysses Nobles 16 points each. Earnest Ross came off the bench for Auburn in the game to score 15 points.

The Arkansas-Auburn game will be broadcast on the radio across the Razorback Sports Network from IMG College with Chuck Barrett and Rick Schaeffer giving the call. The game will also be carried live on television by the SEC Network with Dave Baker and Will Perdue calling the action.

Following the contest with Auburn, Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, March 2, at 8 p.m.