Wendell Green Jr. leads Auburn basketball to bounce-back win over Arkansas

AUBURN — Auburn basketball was reeling after a loss to Georgia on Wednesday, and coming into Saturday's game against No. 13 Arkansas, things didn't look great.

The Razorbacks came back from a 17-point deficit against No. 21 Missouri the same day Auburn lost to the Bulldogs. Arkansas had all the momentum coming in.

But it didn't take long for the Tigers (12-3, 2-1 SEC) to jump on the Razorbacks (12-3, 1-2), and they never looked back. Auburn executed a wire-to-wire 72-59 victory over Arkansas to preserve its winning streak at home. The Tigers haven't lost in Neville Arena since February 2021.

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Wendell Green Jr. led the way with 19 points, and Auburn held the Razorbacks to 33.9% shooting from the field. Arkansas also only hit two 3-pointers, one in each half.

Wendell Green Jr. responds

Green played arguably his worst game of the season against Georgia. He missed 10 of his 12 shots against the Bulldogs and turned the ball over four times in Auburn's first SEC loss. He, along with the rest of the Tigers' guards, also struggled to contain Georgia's backcourt.

But he was the prominent reason for Auburn's win against Arkansas, and he got things started early. Green knocked down a 3-pointer, plus the foul, on the first offensive possession for the Tigers. He hit his free throw and then proceeded to rattle off eight points before the halftime buzzer sounded. He led all scorers at the break.

An underrated part of Green's performance in the opening 20 minutes was his activity on the defensive end. The Tigers were playing zone, but Arkansas point guard Anthony Black was held to just five points. Green registered three steals in the first half while turning it over just once. He also finished with five assists.

Supporting cast

Although Green was the catalyst, others on Auburn's roster played a huge role in securing the win.

Allen Flanigan finished with 18 points, nine of which came in the first half; he and Green combined for 18 in the game's first 10 minutes. Flanigan also hit two of four 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. As a team, the Tigers connected on 45.5% of their shots from long-range in the first half.

It was the first time Flanigan scored double-digit points in back-to-back games since February 2021. He had 10 points against the Bulldogs.

Johni Broome registered another double-double, and now has nine straight games scoring in double figures.

The rest of Auburn's points were spread apart fairly evenly across the roster. Of the 10 players who saw the court, nine scored, and four had nine or more points. Even Zep Jasper, who is better known for his defense, had his offensive moments. Jasper hit two pull-up jumpers from the midrange early in the second half, and nearly got a step-back 3-pointer to go that would've sent Neville Arena into a frenzy shortly after.

Doing the little things

For everything Auburn did right, the Razorbacks did wrong.

The Tigers outscored Arkansas in bench points 27-8, but the biggest discrepancy in productivity was at the free-throw line. Auburn made 17 of 22 free throws, while the Razorbacks missed 13 of their 32 shots from the stripe. The Tigers were in the bonus for the final 8:32 of the first half.

Auburn also took care of the basketball. It took 10:24 for the Tigers to log a turnover, and they finished with just eight. Arkansas ended with 14.

Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Wendell Green Jr. leads Auburn basketball to huge win over Arkansas