AUBURN, Ala. – After two painfully close calls, Auburn chooses to look ahead at what’s next rather than look back and wonder what if.
What’s next is Saturday’s home game against No. 15 Arkansas, a chance for the Tigers to earn their first SEC victory after dropping the conference opener in overtime at No. 18 Georgia and then falling to Texas A&M at home when KeShawn Murphy’s game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer was overturned after video review.
“We have a lot of fight in us,” said Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall, the SEC’s third leading scorer, averaging 20.9 points per game. “We’ve got to stop putting ourselves in these situations. We have a lot of grit, we want to win, so we’re trying our hardest.”
Hall, who ranks fifth in the SEC in rebounding with 8.2 per game, leads all of college basketball with 109 made free throws while shooting 85.8 percent from the line.
“I try to make sure I finish it because certain games, you’re not going to have refs who call fouls, especially not late in tight games, they’re not going to bail you out with fouls,” said Hall, who works on finishing through contact during practice. “I try to stay locked in on finishing other than trying to draw a foul.”
Right behind Hall in the SEC scoring list is Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr., who averages 19.9 points per game while shooting 43.2 percent from 3-point range.
“One of the best point guards in college basketball,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said of the Arkansas freshman. “They present a lot of challenges which is really going to test our on-ball defense. They’re a handful which is one of the reasons right now they’re one of the favorites to win this league.”
To keep the Tigers focused on the road ahead, Pearl shared recent examples of teams that overcame challenging starts, including Auburn’s 2019 Final Four team and several 2025 Sweet 16 teams, John Calipari’s Razorbacks among them.
“There’s not any quit in this group,” he said. “They still believe in each other and in this staff. This league’s awesome because every night you have an opportunity to change your resume for the better. It’s not productive to live in the past. We’ve got to live in today.”
Fans are encouraged to wear navy when Auburn (9-6, 0-2) hosts No. 15 Arkansas (12-3, 2-0) Saturday at 5 p.m. CT at Neville Arena on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
“It’s going to be an unbelievable opportunity for us to go against another quality opponent,” Pearl said.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer