AUBURN, Ala. – After earning Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors for helping No. 1 Auburn earn road wins at Vanderbilt and No. 2 Alabama, Denver Jones gets another opportunity to display his defensive and offensive skills Wednesday against Arkansas.
Jones, the SEC player of the week, averaged 18.5 points to help the Tigers defeat the Commodores and the Crimson Tide while holding both teams’ leading scorers to 32.1-percent shooting from the field and 18.8 percent from 3-point range.
“Denver had a great week, but Denver’s had great weeks before,” Auburn coach Bruce sPearl said. “We think we’ve got some really good defensive guards. Denver is our leader in that category. That’s huge to be recognized as the national player of the week.”
Two-thirds of the way through the 18-game SEC schedule, Auburn can remain in sole possession of first place with a win over the Razorbacks.
After an 0-5 start to conference play, the Razorbacks have hit their stride of late, including a win at Kentucky in John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena, and victories over Texas on the road and LSU at home.
“Arkansas is talented enough and good enough to beat anybody in our league,” Pearl said. "They’ve obviously proven it. Right now, Arkansas is playing some of their best basketball.”
The top-ranked Tigers (23-2, 11-1) host Arkansas (15-10, 4-8) Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will provide play-by-play and analysis for listeners on the Auburn Sports Network.
“Our guys understand that Arkansas understands the prize that is on these 40 minutes and what a win for them would do,” said Pearl, noting that an Arkansas win would move the Razorbacks off the NCAA Tournament bubble and into the projected field. “Obviously a lot on the line. We’re trying to play to continue to be in position to win a championship.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer