Bruce Pearl walking the Auburn sideline. Photo by U.S. Air Force photograph by Master Sgt. Kurt Skoglund, public domain.
- Arkansas (8-0) heads to Auburn (6-2) on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7:00 pm ET
- The Razorbacks put their perfect to the test against their toughest opponent yet
- The odds for the game, as well as matchup analysis and a pick, can be found in the article below
Do you think the Arkansas Razorbacks feel disrespected?
Here they are, a perfect 8-0, sitting outside the top-25 poll — while several two- and three-loss teams are included in the rankings. Well, Wednesday’s road matchup against Auburn (7:00 pm ET tip off) is a prime opportunity for Arkansas to show what kind of team it really is.
Here’s how the odds look for this SEC matchup, which sees Arkansas as a slight favorite:
Arkansas vs Auburn Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Point Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | -136 | -2.5 (-105) | Over 145.5 (-110) |
| Auburn | +116 | +2.5 (-115) | Under 145.5 (-110) |
Odds as of Dec. 29th, 2020
How They’ve Fared So Far
As stated, Arkansas has fared quite well. Eight wins in eight tries, all of which have come by more than 10 points. Defensively, they have held all opponents to fewer than 80 points, leading to an allowed effective field goal percentage of just 41.2 percent (seventh in NCAA Division I).
Perhaps you’re wondering, then, why the Razorbacks are still only 36th in KenPom’s rankings and have been left out of the AP poll. Well, that’s a simple matter of their strength of schedule.
Roll that tape. pic.twitter.com/KNIquvKjFy
— Arkansas Razorback Basketball
(@RazorbackMBB) December 20, 2020
Arkansas has yet to play a team inside KenPom’s top 100 rankings, and all but two of their opponents are located outside of the top 150. They’ve done what they can to extinguish lesser teams (including an 80-point bludgeoning of poor Mississippi Valley State on opening night), but now they must prove their worth against someone good.
Enter, Auburn. The Tigers (65th in KenPom’s rankings) have won five in a row and certainly line up as Arkansas’s toughest foe yet. Auburn’s two losses came against No. 1 Gonzaga and UCF (93rd at KenPom), but they’ve otherwise fared well.
W
Going home on the break feeling good! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/dEuwHYd7gG
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) December 23, 2020
Auburn’s best win came against Memphis (60th at KenPom), a 74-71 victory at a neutral site, but they haven’t beaten anyone else inside KenPom’s top 150. So Wednesday’s game can be a proving ground for either side.
ATS Analysis
The Razorbacks are 4-2-1 against the spread this year (one game was against a non-D-I school and didn’t have odds), but no particular trend has emerged of late. They have a win, a loss and a push in their past three games.
They haven’t played on the road since March, with they lost straight up to Texas A&M as 2.5-point favorites. Their past three games have hit the over, though, clearing the projected point total by at least nine points each time.
Tonight’s Top 3⃣
3⃣ @desisills3 with the corner
2⃣ @onekrob2 tough finish at the rim
1⃣ @jtate_the_great break away slam pic.twitter.com/nDQtzeMa3U— Arkansas Razorback Basketball
The Tigers, meanwhile, are 3-4-1 ATS, but they’ve been excellent in that regard lately. Auburn began the year 0-4 ATS and have gone on a 3-0-1 streak since. In their past three games, the Tigers have been favored by double-digit points.
Auburn diverges from Arkansas on the over/under front, as the Tigers have seen the under hit in four consecutive games. In their past three games, the under has succeeded by a margin of at least 11.5 points.
Head-to-Head Matchup
These teams have played four times in the past three seasons, and Auburn as won three of four straight up and ATS. That includes last season’s 79-76 overtime win at Arkansas, in which the Tigers were down by 11 with roughly five minutes to play but stormed back for a win.
There were eight scorers in double figures in that game. Seven have moved on due to graduation or professional pursuits, though, so this is essentially a clean slate.
We like Arkansas here, simply because they’ve performed about as well as they possibly could have so far this season.
Pick: Arkansas -2.5 (-105)
Jordan Horrobin is a sports journalist whose MLB, NHL, NFL and NCAA work has appeared in outlets such as The Athletic, MLB.com, the Detroit Free Press and more. He is currently based in Toronto, also working as a contributor for Forbes.com and a freelance editor for Sportsnet.
source https://casinonewsblogger.com/arkansas-vs-auburn-picks-and-odds/
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