Auburn has won 19 games in a row and is the No. 1 team in the country for the third week in a row. The Tigers will put that all on the line when they travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas.
After losing five out of six games from mid-December to early January, the Razorbacks have since been one of the hottest teams in the country as they have won eight straight games since their mid-season slump.
“The key to their eight-game winning streak has been their defense,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “They make it really difficult to run your offense... Bud Walton will be on fire, so we know we've got a great opportunity.”
Freshman star Jabari Smith only attempted seven shots against the Bulldogs on Saturday and coach Pearl took responsibility for that.
"If he had a better coach, he'd get more shots, but he's got to overcome me," Pearl said. “That's on me that he only got seven shots.”
Auburn forward Allen Flanigan has been back for 10 games now and he is slowly starting to progress and become more comfortable with this new team.
Pearl noted that he has had to change roles completely as he said that he asked Flanigan to do everything last season, but now he doesn’t have to do that.
While Flanigan’s offense has come along slowly his defense has still been very solid.
“Every day [he’s] getting more and more comfortable,” Pearl said. “He's still not back to last season's form...When he's healthy, he's as good a defensive big guard as there is.”
Arkansas is a versatile team that will be able to switch everything defensively while also having the size to match up with the Tigers.
“Arkansas is probably as big and as athletic as any team in our league,” Pearl said “Really big, physical guards. Statistically, they’re playing as well defensively as anyone in the league. Stanley Umude, JD Notae, and Jaylin Williams have been really good for them.”
Against Georgia, Auburn was without its starting point guard Zep Jasper due to an illness. Jasper is still recovering as he was not able to practice on Sunday and is questionable for the game on Tuesday.
The Tigers and Razorbacks will tip-off on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CST. The game will air on ESPN2.
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Henry is a sophomore from Dallas, Texas. This is his second year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @Henry_Patton23
