Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 1 Auburn overcame a rough offensive performance to beat Arkansas 67-60 on Wednesday night.
After winning at Alabama on Saturday in a game between the top teams in the poll, Auburn (24-2, 12-1 Southeastern Conference) had to fight to avoid its second straight home loss. The Tigers fell down by one with 3:06 remaining before closing the game on a 10-2 run.
Chad Baker-Mazara added 15 points and Chaney Johnson had 14 for Auburn, which had an uncharacteristically off performance in 3-point shooting, ball security and rim defense. The Tigers shot 25-of-62 (40.3%) from the field, including just 4-of-24 from 3-point range, but scored 16 second-chance points off of 13 offensive rebounds.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl credited his team for pulling out the win despite a “sloppy” performance.
“We knew it was going to be a struggle because Arkansas is so good defensively and such a great rim protecting team,” Pearl said. “And, you know, our offense left a lot to be desired tonight. Our execution wasn’t very good. I don’t think our shot selection was great.”
He added: “But our guys competed. They did not let the fact that we weren’t making shots and playing well offensively affect their defense. Holding Arkansas to 60 points is significant.”
Broome, widely considered among the favorites for the Wooden Award this season, posted his 36th career game with at least 15 points and 10 rebounds, the most by an SEC player in past 20 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
Adou Thiero led Arkansas (15-11, 4-9) with 16. Johnell Davis had 14. The Razorbacks also struggled from deep on Wednesday night, shooting just 3-for-19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
