Auburn shot better than 50 percent from outside the arc and flattened 15 three-pointers, but 19 turnovers – leading to 27 Arkansas points – were ultimately too many to overcome.
The Tigers dropped their SEC start Wednesday night to the Razorbacks, 97-85, in the Auburn Arena. Devan Cambridge and Jamal Johnson shot 10-of-13 from downtown, but Justin Powell, Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan together committed 17 of the 19 times the Tigers, as Bruce Pearl’s group converted at least 17 times for the seventh time. nine games this season.
“You score 85 points, you shoot 52 percent for the game, 52 percent from 3, you earn 15 3s, it’s a game you have to win,” Pearl said. “Unless you give up 97, unless you turn the ball 19 times, unless you’re struggling to end possessions.”
Auburn (6-3, 0-1 SEC) will return to court on Saturday against Texas A&M. Here are AL.com’s most important takeaways from Wednesday’s SEC start:
Turnover remains a problem for a young Auburn team
Auburn’s 19 conversions against Arkansas were not a season high for the Tigers, but they were not far off. Auburn averaged 22 times its UCF defeat to UCF a month ago, but Wednesday’s total was the Tigers’ second in a game this season as Pearl’s young squad continues to struggle to care for the ball.
Seven of that turnover came from Powell, who also had nine assistants on a night in which he otherwise struggled offensively and shot just 1-out-8 from the field and 0-for-3 from the depths. Flanigan (who had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds) and Williams (13 points) turned the ball over five times in 30 minutes of action. All three had an alarmingly high turnover toward Arkansas, with Powell transferring it on 36 percent of his holdings, Flanigan on 32 percent of him and Williams on 40 percent of his holdings.
But with 12 of the turnover coming from the points post, where Powell and Flanigan are still being asked to play out of their position, it was tough sledding for Auburn.
“I do not hate them and I am not angry with them,” Pearl said. ‘I think JP and Al do as good a job as they can. I would say, we could pass the ball a little more, stand up on the floor, get it out of their hands, attack the pressure a little, so that they do not always have to bring the ball up against pressure; can we get it in, get it off the floor first before that ball pressure takes over? Possible. ”
Twelve of Auburn’s turnovers came in the second half, leading to 20 Arkansas points, with seven of the turnovers coming in the 6:30 final.
Devan Cambridge needed this game
It was a tough start to the season for Devan Cambridge at the attacking end, but the second year came out of his funk against Arkansas.
Cambridge reached a season-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, with all six of its efforts coming out of the three-point series, adding four setbacks on Wednesday night and no turnover in 21 minutes. It was Cambridge’s best attacking performance of the year, and his best overall game since a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds) against Saint Joseph this season.
It was the kind of night Cambridge needed, at least from a shooting standpoint. He entered the game just 28.1 percent on the season, including just 22.2 percent from outside the arc. He knocked out several three-pointers in three of Auburn’s first eight games, with two pieces against Gonzaga and Troy, and a 4-for-11 effort against South Alabama. On Wednesday, however, it feels more like one of the flashes Cambridge showed as a rookie last year when he had lightning-fast three-point outbursts against South Carolina and LSU.
Cambridge have yet to show he can hold this kind of shooting night from Auburn Arena, but Wednesday’s performance against Arkansas was a step in the right direction for the second year at the end of court.
“Every game, I know Devan is going to hit two or three big 3s, you know,” Johnson said. ‘I would not say he is struggling; I mean, he missed a few shots, but he comes to practice every day with a positive attitude. He comes into the locker room with a positive attitude, so I know his time is coming. He’s going to keep shooting. He has great confidence in his lap. I had a lot of confidence in him for him, so I knew it was coming. He will continue to build on this game for the rest of the season. ”
Jamal Johnson’s career night
Jamal Johnson did it for the second game in a row for Auburn off the bench. The second-year redshirt scored a career-high 21 points against Arkansas, with a total of 7-of-11 and 5-of-7 from outside the arc.
Although Flanigan’s doubles double was big, Johnson’s career night was probably the brightest spot for Auburn against Arkansas, and he added three steals while being off the bench 23 times. It was the fourth game this season that Johnson scored in double figures, including the second in a row after a 14-point performance against Appalachian State.
“A career highlight was great and all, but I want to win,” Johnson said. “I want our team to win. Our main goal is to win the SEC Championship in the regular season. This is our main goal here. The numbers and all that stuff, that’s good, but I want to win. Our whole team wants to win and our coaching team – everyone wants to win. I mean, it’s good and all, but we all want to win
Tom Green is an Auburn reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.