Gimme 5

Arkansas-Auburn Takeaways

Arkansas' Fred Gulley gets low to regain balance after fighting with Auburn's Tahj Shamsid-Deen for a ball loose in the air Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, during the second half of the game against Auburn at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

Arkansas’ Assists/FG Made: 21/28

The Razorbacks had 21 assists on 28 made shots during their 86-67 victory over Auburn.

“That’s pretty efficient basketball,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said.

That means Arkansas passed the ball in a way that led to open shots, particularly in the second half, when the Razorbacks made only three shots that weren’t assisted.

“The ball never got stagnant,” senior guard Fred Gulley said. “When someone was open, we hit them.”

Before the Auburn game, Arkansas assisted on just 55.1 percent of its made field goals. The Razorbacks assisted on 75 percent of them against the Tigers, for their highest percentage of the season.

Arkansas’ Second Half FG Percentage: 65.4

Arkansas and Auburn could not find a rhythm in the first half, combining to shoot 18-for-62 (29 percent) from the field.

However, both teams came out firing after halftime. In the first five and a half minutes of the second half, the Tigers were 5-for-6 from the floor and the Razorbacks were 4-for-5.

Auburn ended up shooting 45.2 percent in the second half, a vast improvement from its 25.9 percent in the first half, but nowhere close to Arkansas’ 65.4 percent.

“We did a good job of really attacking all around,” Anderson said. “We pushed the basketball and flattened the defense and kicked it out when we had open shots.”

Points in the Paint: Arkansas 38, Auburn 26

In the Razorbacks’ previous five Southeastern Conference games, they were outscored by an average of six points per game in the paint.

That wasn’t the case against Auburn, as Arkansas outscored the Tigers in the paint by 12 points.

All six of freshman Bobby Portis’ made field goals came right by the basket, including four in the first half.

“That was big,” Anderson said. “I though (Portis) did a good job of attacking and finishing around the basket.”

Jacorey Williams: 9 minutes

Sophomore Jacorey Williams played only nine minutes against Auburn, but they were “dynamite,” Anderson said.

When senior Coty Clarke picked up his second foul just over four minutes into the game, Williams stepped in and scored six points and hauled in four rebounds.

“He’s giving us energy off the bench,” Anderson said. “He was a big difference in what took place from a lead that was one or two points and it ballooned to 10 or 12 points.”

His numbers were nearly double his season averages of 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds prior to the game. He also had a block and a steal.

KT Harrell and Chris Denson’s Combined FG Percentage: 28.6

The SEC’s leading scoring tandem came into the Arkansas game shooting a combined 48 percent from the field. The Razorbacks held them to just 28.6 percent.

Harrell and Denson scored 35 points, nearly reaching their average scoring total of 38.2, but almost half of their points came at the free throw line. The pair shot 17-for-23 from the charity stripe.

Before playing the Razorbacks, only 25.1 percent of Harrell and Denson’s points came from free throws.

Arkansas forced the two guards to commit six turnovers, as well, which is also above their season average.