AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas walked into Neville Arena on Saturday afternoon hoping to add another SEC road data point worth circling.
Instead, the Razorbacks walked out with a 95-73 loss and a reminder that conference margins are rarely polite.
This one didn’t unravel all at once. It pressed, leaned, and eventually tipped. Auburn kept applying pressure until the math stopped favoring the visitors.
The Hogs arrived at 12-4 overall and 2-1 in league play, carrying momentum from a recent win over Ole Miss.
That momentum held just long enough to confirm it existed.
The Tigers wasted little time establishing their identity. The ball moved, shots fell, and the paint belonged to the home team from the opening stretch.
Junior guard Darius Acuff Jr. led Arkansas with 19 points, working through traffic and contact to keep the offense functional when possessions tightened.
Meleek Thomas added 17 points off the bench, providing needed scoring bursts when the Razorbacks searched for answers. Malique Ewin chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Trevon Brazile contributed 12 points and five boards, but the Hogs shot just 43 percent overall and struggled to string together defensive stops.
Auburn, meanwhile, shot 57 percent and turned clean looks into steady damage. The Tigers’ efficiency never let the game breathe.
By halftime, Arkansas trailed 49-34, the product of a 15-3 run that quietly tilted the floor. The Razorbacks weren’t finished, but the climb was already steep.
Paint control sets the tone early
The second half followed a familiar script. The Hogs pushed pace, tried different looks, and briefly trimmed the margin, but Auburn answered with baskets at the rim.
The Tigers scored 48 points in the paint, an area Arkansas couldn’t consistently protect without giving something else away.
Rebounding told the rest of the story. Auburn won the glass 37-28 and converted those extra possessions into 18 second-chance points.
For the Razorbacks, those numbers turned effort into frustration. Stops were there in moments, just not in sequence.
Keyshawn Hall made sure those moments didn’t linger. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 4 of 5 from three, and added five assists.
Hall said afterward the Tigers focused on being aggressive and finishing plays, a simple formula Arkansas couldn’t disrupt once it took hold.
Tahaad Pettiford added balance with seven assists and eight points, keeping the offense organized while the Hogs chased.
By the final stretch, the outcome felt settled. Auburn closed cleanly, extending the margin to 22 and turning the closing minutes into maintenance work.
The Razorbacks leave Neville Arena at 12-4 overall and 2-1 in SEC play, carrying a road lesson that won’t need much explaining back home.
Arkansas returns to Fayetteville next, where the conversation will center on paint defense, rebounding discipline, and how quickly the Hogs respond when the league exposes gaps.
Key takeaways
- Auburn’s control of the paint and the glass shaped the game from the opening stretch and never loosened its grip.
- Arkansas received needed scoring from its bench, but defensive stops never arrived in enough sequence to matter.
- SEC road games punish small mistakes, and the Razorbacks learned that lesson quickly at Neville Arena.
