AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn was perfectly willing to run with No. 24 Arkansas late Wednesday, and the Razorbacks showed their appreciation with stellar ball movement and shooting to pummel the Tigers 101-87 and continue their dominance in the series.
The Razorbacks (19-5, 8-3 SEC) remained unbeaten at Auburn Arena at 4-0 and extended their winning streak over the Tigers to eight games, sending most of the crowd of 6,526 home early by turning the foul-fest into a full-fledged rout late in the second half by building a 22-point lead at 98-76.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 19-5, 8-3 SEC; Auburn 11-13, 3-8 SEC
STARS Arkansas’ Bobby Portis had 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and had 8 rebounds, and Michael Qualls made 6 of 9 shots and scored 19 points. Auburn’s KT Harrell and K.C. Ross-Miller each scored 21 points.
TURNING POINT Arkansas used a 22-11 run midway through the second half to turn a 71-61 game into a 93-72 rout.
KEY STATS Arkansas made 11 of 23 three-pointers (47.8 percent), recorded 23 assists on 35 field goals and outscored Auburn 22-7 in points off of turnovers
UP NEXT Arkansas plays at Ole Miss at 8 p.m. Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
The Razorbacks hit 35 of 65 shots (53.8 percent) and had 23 assists, including eight by Ky Madden.
"It was poetry in motion, the ball movement and the people movement and the cutting," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.
A hack job in the foul department told a different story for the flow of the game. The officials called 53 fouls, including four technicals, three on Arkansas. Auburn made 31 of a season-high 40 free throws, while Arkansas made 20 of 25.
"It was physical. It was robust," said Arkansas' Michael Qualls, who had 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. "I loved it. It was real chippy all night, but you know I like to play with emotion. I feel like it helped fuel me at the right time."
Bobby Portis celebrated his 20th birthday with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and had 8 rebounds for the Razorbacks, who won for the sixth time in seven games and remained in second place in the SEC.
"We're playing well," Anderson said. "This time of year we're playing well. Tonight they played the right way."
Arkansas made 11 of 23 three-pointers (47.8 percent) and led by nine or more points the entire second half. Auburn made 10 of 20 three-pointers but couldn't keep pace with the hot-shooting Hogs.
"I didn't mind going up and down with them," Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said. "We were comfortable offensively most of the night, but we couldn't stop them."
Auburn (11-13, 3-8) lost its fourth consecutive home game and fell for the sixth time in seven games while playing its first ranked opponent of the season.
Arkansas guard Anthlon Bell made four three-pointers for the second consecutive game and had 16 points. Ky Madden scored 12 points and his eight assists tied his season high, last reached Dec. 28 against Northwestern State.
"I haven't lost here since I've been in college," Madden said, referring to Auburn Arena, which opened in the 2010-2011 season. "It feels good to just feel like an arena is your arena.
"That was a real up-tempo pace, but that's the way we want the game. That's the way we practice every day. If we play up-tempo like that every game, we have a good chance of winning."
KT Harrell led Auburn with 21 points, including 4-of-7 three-point shooting, and K.C. Ross-Miller added 21.
"I think we've got enough talent to play with them," Ross-Miller said. "I don't think we competed enough defensively."
The teams combined for more points in the first half (105) than the Razorbacks and Mississippi State combined for (102) in Arkansas' 61-41 victory last Saturday.
The officials assured a herky-jerky pace by whistling 32 fouls in the first half and 54 in the game, including 31 on the Razorbacks.
Arkansas turned a 71-61 lead into a blowout with a 15-7 run midway through the second half, spurred by a Portis putback, two free throws from Alandise Harris and 3 three-pointers from Bell and Jabril Durham.
By the time former Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig was honored on the court with 3:45 remaining and Arkansas ahead 95-74, more than half the crowd had departed.
Auburn's last victory in the series came in a 92-83 decision Feb. 20, 2010, at Beard-Eaves Coliseum in Auburn.
The Razorbacks had held five consecutive opponents to 65 points or less for the first time since joining the SEC in 1992, but that streak was in jeopardy early as the referees actively blew their whistles. The Tigers surpassed 65 midway through the second half.
Arkansas was scoring at an even better rate, hitting 100 for the third time this season on Anton Beard's unguarded layup with 2:28 remaining.
Arkansas' last 100-point outing in an SEC road game came in a 108-105 overtime victory at LSU on March 2, 1994.
Arkansas went on a three-point binge early in the first half, including an early pair from Qualls to go up 14-8. The Razorbacks then edged away with good work beyond the arc. Madden hit a three-pointer at 14:49, then Bell came in hot, hitting his first pair of three-point shots to give Arkansas a 23-17 lead that Qualls expanded with a couple of free throws.
The Razorbacks went ahead 31-20 on Portis' baby hook from 9 feet and a Jacorey Williams free throw made it a 12-point edge.
Auburn stayed in contact with the help of Harrell's three-point shooting and a ton of free throws. The Tigers made 19 of 25 free throws (76 percent) in the opening half, while Arkansas was 13 of 17 (76.5 percent).
Sports on 02/11/2015