FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – Known as one of the more hostile environments in the SEC, Bud Walton Arena was quiet for most of the day Saturday as No. 25 Auburn throttled Arkansas 83-51 on the road to secure a win in the SEC opener.
Auburn's 32-point win was the largest for a visitor in Bud Walton Arena history.
"I didn't know that, but now you made (the win) way better," Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara said after the game. "It was really exciting, especially the way we just played and were clicking together. It was special to us."
"That history does matter," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Doing it at a place like this or if you could do it at Rupp (Kentucky) or if you could do it at Tennessee, it does mean more because those are some of the toughest places in the SEC to play."
The Tigers outrebounded Arkansas 46-32. They had 48 points in the paint to just 18 for Arkansas. Their bench outscored the Arkansas bench 46-9. Defensively, they held the Razorbacks to 31 percent shooting and just 11 2-point field goals.
"We played really well," Pearl said. "We got off to a rough start and you could see the moment almost got the best of us at the beginning. Arkansas is a talented team. We didn't play very well early. They made some shots early. And it could have gotten away from us right there. But the second group of Tre Donaldson, K.D. Johnson, Chad Baker-Mazara, Dylan (Cardwell) – they really settled us down.
"From that point forward, we just played great basketball."
Baker-Mazara specifically had the hot hand for Auburn in the first half. Playing in his first SEC game, the junior college transfer scored seven straight points early. Later in the first half, he was part of a 7-0 Auburn run with a left-handed lay-up through traffic and a 3-pointer in transition. He scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the first half.
"My whole life I've been dreaming about playing this game," said Baker-Mazara, who matched his season high in scoring. "I've always heard people say, 'You might be too skinny to play.' Or 'He might not be physical enough.' I'm just trying to prove to people that they're wrong. It's all about your heart and how bad you really want it."
Leading 37-30 at the intermission, the Tigers put their foot down in the beginning of the second half and went on a 13-2 run in the first six minutes to open up a 50-32 lead.
Big man Johni Broome took over during that stretch scoring eight of Auburn's 13 points on the run. The Razorbacks had no answer for Broome in the second half. He scored 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting after being held scoreless in the first half.
"Johni had a great second half," Pearl said. "He was dominant offensively. But he didn't start well, he didn't play well (early). We're going to go as far as Johni Broome takes us. But the great thing about maybe being on a great team is you've got other guys you can count on."
It was the 12th game in double figures this season for Broome who also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and added three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Tre Donaldson and Jaylin Williams also scored in double figures for the Tigers on Saturday with 11 points each. Donaldson capped that 7-0 run right before the half with a reverse layup and finished with the best plus-minus (+31) of anybody on the team. He set a new career high with seven rebounds and led the team with four assists.
With the win, Auburn now has six wins at Arkansas all-time with three of those six wins coming under Pearl. More importantly, the Tigers are 1-0 to start SEC play.
Auburn (12-2, 1-0) will return home next week for back-to-back SEC games against Texas A&M and LSU in Neville Arena. First up are the Aggies on Tuesday night.
ARKANSAS POSTGAME NOTES
» Auburn is 42-49 in SEC openers all-time, including 6-4 under head coach Bruce Pearl. The Tigers have won their last three conference openers. Auburn is 14-30 when opening SEC play on the road. Saturday's victory was the Tigers' first win in five SEC openers against Arkansas.
» Auburn is 22-38 against Arkansas all-time. Saturday's victory was Auburn's third win at Arkansas under head coach Bruce Pearl. That is half of the Tigers' six wins in 28 games at Arkansas all-time.
» The 32-point win was the largest defeat Arkansas has ever suffered in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks' previous worst loss in the arena was a 30-point loss to Florida in 2012. It was also the Tigers' largest win in the 60-game series, topping Auburn's 101-76 victory in Auburn in 1996. Auburn's previous largest win at Arkansas was a 73-51 victory in 2009. It was the Tigers' largest SEC win since defeating Missouri 89-56 at Neville Arena last season.
» Auburn improved to 12-2 on the season and extended its winning streak to seven games, which is the Tigers' longest winning streak since winning the first eight games of last season. Auburn has won all seven games by at least 16 points, winning those games by an average of 25.1 points.
» Auburn had the same starting lineup of Aden Holloway, Denver Jones, Jaylin Williams, Johni Broome and Chris Moore for the ninth straight game. That group is 10-1 as a starting unit this season. Williams and Moore remain the only Tigers to start every game this season.
» Auburn held Arkansas to 51 points, which is the fewest points the Razorbacks have scored in five seasons under head coach Eric Musselman. It was Arkansas' fewest points since Florida held the Razorbacks to 50 points in the 2019 SEC Tournament. Arkansas' previous season low was 69 points vs. Lipscomb.
» Auburn committed only seven turnovers in its win at Arkansas. It is the Tigers' seventh game this season with single-digit turnovers, all in the last nine games.
» Auburn has held a halftime lead in all but one game this season, including today when the Tigers took a 37-30 advantage into intermission. Auburn is 12-1 when leading at halftime on the season.
» Auburn outscored Arkansas 46-21 in the second half. The plus-25 scoring margin is the Tigers' best in the second half this season. In the second half, Auburn 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the floor, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, while holding Arkansas to 22.2 percent shooting (6-of-27). The Tigers also outrebounded Arkansas 21-14 and committed only two turnovers after halftime.
» Auburn scored 46 bench points in its win at Arkansas, including 16 points from Chad Baker-Mazara and 11 from Tre Donaldson. It is the sixth time this season the Tigers' reserves have scored at least 40 points in a game.
» Auburn's 48 points in the paint are the third-most the Tigers have scored this season and are just four off the Tigers' season-high 52 paint points against Chattanooga.
» Chad Baker-Mazara recorded his seventh game in double figures this season, including three straight, with a season-high-tying 16 points on 5-of-9 field goals, 2-of-3 from long range and 4-of-4 from the foul line at Arkansas. Baker-Mazara added four rebounds and three assists in the victory.
» Johni Broome scored all 14 of his points in Saturday's game in the second half. Broome finished 7-of-13 from the floor, and he added eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals on the afternoon. It is his 95th career game in double figures, including his 12th this season and fifth straight. He has 24 blocks over his last nine games.
» Tre Donaldson added 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, including making his only 3-point attempt on the day. He tied his career high with seven rebounds and had four assists and only one turnover. It is Donaldson's fifth game in double figures this season and the seventh of his career but his first against an SEC opponent.
» Jaylin Williams scored 11 points on 5-of-9 field goals, including one 3-pointer, to go with three rebounds and one assist. It is Williams' 50th career game in double figures, including eight this season and five in the last seven games.