WOW. Again.
- Curb stomping a good Arkansas team wasn't even an option for me going into this game. I thought Auburn would be good tonight and would win, but not by 11. Make no mistake — Arkansas is good. They'll go to the NCAAs barring some injuries. The Tigers punched 'em in the face early and that was an overwhelming advantage. Great start, great finish, mediocre middle ... but all's well that ends well.
- The first half, one that saw Auburn build a 17-point lead, largely was due to some brilliant coaching and execution. Arkansas likes to switch off screens. Auburn knew that going in, talked about being patient as those revised defensive matchups sorted — then get the ball to the individual matchup that favored Auburn most. The Tigers killed them doing that. Arkansas coach Mike Anderson tends to stick with the same defensive paradigm most of the time because that's how he was taught and that's how he's been recruiting. At some point, though, Arkansas had to quit switching and switch to zone. He had no choice.
- Auburn wasn't as good once the switching stopped. They still shot reasonably well (11-of-23) during the second half, but the shot quality wasn't as good in general and the team didn't play quite as aggressively overall. It allowed itself to be lulled to sleep, at least partially, due to Arkansas' unusually passive defensive approach after halftime.
- So on that "lulled to sleep thing" — Pearl deserves some of the blame. Auburn seemed content to slow things down around the 11:00 mark of the second half with a 19-point lead. That led was down to seven points only a few minutes later. This team cannot change speeds. It's a bad idea. Pearl and his staff finally have found a way to get this team playing great help defense and attacking intelligently on the scoring end. And now they're going to change the tempo with the game still on the line? I found that puzzling. Arkansas deserves credit for digging back into the game, but Auburn played into the visitors' hands too willingly. That's on Pearl.
- It always starts with Mustapha Heron and tonight was no exception. He finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He attempted only one free throw, though. He mostly was a mid-range shooter Saturday night, which is fine as long as he's grabbing Arkansas' attention. And he certainly did that.
- Desean Murray's night was second to none. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting (only three shots were plays designed for him) along with eight rebounds, two assists, two steals. Unlike the Tennessee game, he was able to defend without picking up superfluous fouls. He played 26 minutes, slightly more than usual for him, and was whistled only twice. He's the heart and soul of this team. His spirit is Auburn's spirit. Heron may be the figurehead, but Murray is the reason Auburn is better this season.
- Eight assists and two turnovers for Jared Harper. Excellent.
- Poor nights from Anfernee McLemore and Horace Spencer, but great play from Murray and another phenomenal shift from Chuma Okeke (10 points, 6 rebounds in 19 minutes) mitigated all that.
- Auburn was 15-of-17 from the line during the second half. That's how you put games away.
- Five offensive rebounds as a team isn't good enough. This same lineup had 22 against a taller Tennessee team earlier in the week. Though Tennessee is more physical, Arkansas has better athletes plus a 6-foot-11 center. That made a difference.
- The Tigers (14-1, 2-0) almost certainly will be ranked next week — for the first time since 2003.
- Auburn resumes play Tuesday night at home against Ole Miss (9-6, 2-1), which beat resurgent Mississippi State at home Saturday.
PHOTO GALLERY
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