Hogs not a nice host
Pearl, No. 11 Auburn accustomed to tough Arkansas trips.
SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL AUBURN (19-2, 6-2) AT ARKANSAS (16-5, 4-4)
6 p.m. today, Walton Arena, Fayetteville (SEC Network)
FAYETTEVILLE — Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl knows the score for the Tigers’ basketball teams on the road against the University of Arkansas.
When Pearl met with the media Monday, he recited Auburn’s record at Arkansas — 4-21 — since the teams started playing when the Razorbacks joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season.
Auburn went 1-2 in Barnhill Arena and is 3-19 in Walton Arena, where the No. 11 Tigers (19-2, 6-2 SEC) play the Razorbacks (16-5, 4-4) at 6 tonight.
“Winning there is special,” said Pearl, whose Tigers beat the Razorbacks 90-86 in Walton Arena in 2016. “Winning there is really special for Auburn. And yet if we want to compete for this league championship, we need to go there and win.”
The Razorbacks are playing a nationally ranked team for the second time this season. They lost to Kentucky 73-66 in Walton Arena on Jan. 18 when the Wildcats were ranked No. 10.
“Obviously, you play a team that’s top 15 in the country, it’s always a great opportunity,” Musselman said. “Playing them at home is a great opportunity.
“Having said that, they’re ranked 11th for a reason because they’re really, really good. They’re really long. They’re really experienced.”
The Tigers start four seniors — 6-4 Samir Doughty, 6-0 J’Von McCormick, 6-11 Austin Wiley and 6-9 Danjel Purifoy — along with 6-6 freshman Isaac Okoro. Their top reserve is 6-7 senior Anfernee McLemore.
Gone from last season’s 30-10 team that advanced to Auburn’s first Final Four appearance are Bryce Brown, Jared Harper, Chuma Okeke, Malik Dunbar and Horace Spencer.
“When you start looking at their roster, obviously they lost a lot last year off a great team, and Coach Pearl does a great job,” Musselman said. “He’s intense for an entire 40 minutes, and his team kind of takes on his personality.”
The Tigers have balanced scoring with Doughty averaging 15.1 points, Okoro 13.0, McCormick 10.7, Wiley 10.1, Purifoy 9.6 and McLemore 7.9.
“They’re an awesome offensive-rebounding team, and they draw fouls,” Musselman said. “You look at the 44 free throws they took against Kentucky, that’s a pretty big number.”
The Tigers hit 33 of 44 free throws in a 75-66 victory over Kentucky in Auburn Arena on Saturday. Arkansas hopes to keep Auburn’s free throws to a more manageable total.
“I think we just got to be who we are defensively,” said Musselman, whose Razorbacks play man-to-man defense. “It’s not like we’re going to come out and play a zone. We’re going to have to do what we work on every day and what we’ve been working on since the summer.
“I don’t believe in having 12 different defenses. I don’t think you can be really good if you try to do 12 different things. Look, people know how we’re going to defend. They know we are going to play man-to-man defense, and we’re going to aggressively guard the three-point line. We’re going to fly around and try to get defensive rebounds. But, I think we don’t want to take away our aggressiveness, either.”
Pearl said the biggest challenge of playing Arkansas is figuring out how to guard a small lineup led by 6-5 junior Mason Jones, who is averaging an SEC-leading 19.8 ppg, and 6-3 senior Jimmy Whitt, who is averaging 15.4 ppg.
Isaiah Joe, a 6-5 sophomore, is averaging 16.0 ppg, but he’s questionable for tonight’s game because of inflammation in his right knee. Joe wasn’t able to move well in 21 scoreless minutes Saturday at Alabama when the Razorbacks beat the Crimson Tide 82-78.
“They’re a very unique team,” Pearl said. “Eric’s done a terrific job. He’s got them playing with confidence. He’s got some terrific perimeter players that makes it really hard to match up.
“They’re very undersized. They’re last in the league in rebounding, but they fly around and swarm the ball.”
The Tigers are shooting 43.9% from the field — including 31.2% on three-pointers —and 67.4% on free throws. In SEC games, they’re shooting 39.5% from the field and 27.9% on three-pointers.
“I look at our league stats, and they look like we’re a team that’s somewhere in the middle of the league, or even somewhere in the lower half of the league,” Pearl said. “Statistically, we don’t make any sense. We just make up for it, I think, with some effort and energy and the kids working together and working hard.”
Musselman said he expects a large and active crowd for tonight’s game.
“Our fans are really smart. They have a really high basketball IQ, and I think they enjoy watching this team play because of the effort that these guys are giving,” Musselman said. “It’s kind of our job to create the excitement.
“We have to play well to get a home-court advantage. If you don’t play well, it doesn’t help much. Hopefully we put 40 minutes together.”
Auburn is 3-2 on the road with victories at South Alabama, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, and losses at Alabama and Florida.
“This will be the most hostile environment we’ve played in,” Pearl said of Walton Arena. “It’ll be just jumping. We’ll have to handle the atmosphere.”