1/20/2021 basketball Edit

Gameday Central: How to watch Arkansas-Auburn, spread, more

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman masked up. (Arkansas Athletics)

Ryan Casper

HawgBeat Editorial Intern

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The Razorbacks are welcoming the Auburn Tigers to Bud Walton Wednesday night for a rematch. This will be the 56th meeting between the two teams, with Arkansas leading the all-time series 35-20. Furthermore, the Hogs are 21-5 against the Tigers in games played in Fayetteville. The two squads faced off in December with the Hogs forcing 18 turnovers in a 97-85 win in Auburn.

Arkansas needs a win on Wednesday night in order to get the train back on the tracks. The Hogs have dropped their last two games against Alabama and LSU by a combined 47 points. Back on their home court after the two road games, the Razorbacks look to improve on their 2-4 SEC record.

Auburn on the other hand is coming off a huge win against Kentucky, and they are currently on a two-game win streak. The last time the Tigers played Arkansas, they did not have freshman Sharife Cooper and this game will be a whole different look with the talented freshman on the floor.

Here is everything you need to know for the matchup against Auburn:

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Important Times

Doors Open: 7 p.m.

Tip-Off: 8 p.m.

TV/Radio

SEC Network: (Roy Philpott, Mark Wise)

Razorback Sports Network: (Chuck Barrett, Matt Zimmerman)

Satellite Radio: XM: 190, Sirius: 133, Online Channel: 961

Tigers to Know

G Sharife Cooper: The freshman from Powder Springs, Georgia, is playing in his fourth game this season. In those 3 games played, Cooper is averaging (21.7 ppg), (4.0 rpg), and (9.7 apg). Copper brings a whole different style of play to this Auburn team with his scoring and passing ability.

G Allen Flanigan: The sophomore from Little Rock, Arkansas, is an all-around player for the Tigers. Flanigan is leading the team in points per game (14.3ppg), rebounds (5.4rpg), and assists (2.9 apg).

F Jaylin Williams: A sophomore out of Nahunta, Georgia, is leading the team in blocks per game (1.5 bpg) and steals (1.1 spg). He is also fourth on the team in points with 10.6 ppg.

Stat Comp. (Arkansas | Auburn)

Scoring Offense: 12 (85.2 ppg) | 94 (76.4 ppg)

Scoring Defense: 184 (70.6 ppg) | 237 (72.9 ppg)

FG%: 170 (44.35%) | 136 (45.07%)

3pt%: 143 (34.22%) | 212 (32.75%)

3pt DEF: 119 (31.7%) | 63 (30.1%)

Musselman's Keys to the Game

“They're playing faster right now. Sharife Cooper is as fast as any point guard we'll see all year, and as I mentioned he throws, in my opinion, as good of advance passes in transition as anyone that we've seen.

"Auburn presents a lot of problems, shooting 29 threes a game. And then you think about the five players averaging double digits. So we’ve got to play really good defense. Cooper has got the ball in his hands so much. We talked to our team about it yesterday, that the amount of time he’s got the ball in his hands and his usage is actually higher than James Harden when Harden played for the Rockets. So that’s a completely different team than we played a few weeks ago in Auburn.

“Certainly, I think you’ve got to learn from your mistakes. You’ve got to learn from things that you haven’t done well. So that’s what we’ve got to do.”