AUBURN, Ala. – Wendell Green Jr. opened the game with a 4-point play and No. 22 Auburn never trailed Saturday, defeating No. 13 Arkansas 72-59 for the Tigers 27th consecutive victory at Neville Arena.
"We needed that," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "They really showed me something tonight. The bounce back, the quick turnaround, played great from the start."
Green scored 19 points, Allen Flanigan added 18 and Johni Broome logged his third straight double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Fourteen seconds into the game, Green made a 3-pointer, drew a foul and made the free throw to give Auburn a lead it would never relinquish.
"I wanted to come back and show how I play," said Green, who added five assists, three rebounds and three steals. "It felt good to see that first shot go in."
Green scored 12 in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, to help the Tigers lead 36-25 at the half.
"Wendell's tough, stubborn and confident," Pearl said. "He takes a lot of contact."
Green's no-look lob to Dylan Cardwell delighted the sold-out crowd, giving the Tigers a 14-point lead in the second half.
"Everybody did their job," Green said. "I'm proud of all my teammates. We played our roles."
Auburn equaled its season low by committing only eight turnovers while forcing 14. The opportunistic Tigers capitalized on nearly every takeaway, taking a commanding 25-6 lead in points off turnovers.
"The key to the game was not turning it over," Pearl said. "The key to the game was understanding, let's get a shot. The other thing we emphasized was, just take open shots."
Auburn relied heavily on a 2-3 zone, daring the Razorbacks to make outside shots. Arkansas shot just 12.5 percent from 3-point range, going 2-for-16 overall and 1-for-10 in the second half.
"Arkansas is better from two than three. That flat 2-3 zone bothered them," Pearl said. "They really struggled with it. Our guys did a good job with it."
Jaylin Williams and Flanigan made Auburn's second-half 3-pointers and the Tigers made their final five field goals to keep Arkansas at bay. Auburn never led by fewer than nine points throughout the second half.
"Being able to step up tonight for my teammates was big. It definitely boosts the confidence," said Flanigan, who added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. "It shows what we're capable of night in and night out. Now we've just got to put games and days back to back and put them together."
"It was wonderful to see Allen Flanigan have maybe one of the best games of his career in an important game here at home," Pearl said. "Probably one of the top four or five wins that I've had at Auburn in Neville Arena."
Anthony Black led all scorers with 23 point for Arkansas (12-3, 1-2) which outrebounded Auburn 45-32, including 17 offensive rebounds, but managed only eight second-chance points.
Auburn (12-3, 2-1) plays at Ole Miss Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU and the Auburn Sports Network.
"I'm very proud of the kids," Pearl said. "It was a great team effort."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
ARKANSAS POSTGAME NOTES>> For the 13th time this season, Auburn went with the starting lineup of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Chris Moore, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (10-3).
>> With the win, Auburn snaps a three-game losing streak in the all-time series with Arkansas. It was the largest margin of victory over the Razorbacks (+13) since a 23-point win (W, 79-56) against Arkansas at home on Feb. 20, 2019. It was the first win for the Tigers in the series since a 79-76 overtime victory on the road on Feb. 4, 2020 in Fayetteville, Ark.
>> Wendell Green Jr. reached double figures in the first half for just the second time this season with 12 of his team-high 19 points versus Arkansas. He also dished out five of the team's 13 assists in the contest.
>> Allen Flanigan, a native of Little Rock, turned in his fifth game this season in double figures with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field versus Arkansas. It was the first time since his sophomore season in 2020-21 to record double-digits in back-to-back games.
>> Green Jr. and Flanigan combined for 18 of the team's points in the first 10 minutes of the ballgame.
>>Johni Broome extended his double-digit scoring streak to nine-straight games with 10 points against Arkansas. He also recorded his third-straight double-double performance with a game-high tying 10 rebounds. It marked his 39th career double-double.
>> Broome's three-straight double-doubles were the first since Austin Wiley did so against LSU, Alabama and Missouri during the 2019-20 season.
>> The Tigers shot an improved 43.6 percent from the field (24-of-55) against Arkansas. It was their best shooting performance since the Washington game and best in their first three SEC games.
>> The Auburn defense held Arkansas to its second-fewest points this season (59 points) and 13 percent shooting from beyond the arc (2-for-16).
>> Auburn has now won 27-straight home games at Neville Arena, which is the third-longest active home-court win streak in the country behind Gonzaga (75) and Kentucky (28).
>> Auburn is now 1-0 against Top 25 opponents this season. It was the program's 76th all-time victory over a ranked opponent in The Associated Press Poll. The Tigers are now 76-22 when ranked in the Bruce Pearl Era. They last beat a No. 13-ranked team against then No. 13 Kentucky (W, 75-66) on Feb. 1, 2020 in Auburn, Ala.
>> The Tigers, who continue to lead the nation in blocked shots per game, made seven blocked shots against Arkansas including six by Broome. It was AU's 68th-straight game with a block.
>> AU made a season-low tying eight turnovers in the ballgame versus Arkansas.