What we learned in Arkansas' 79-68 win at Auburn

Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs (3) tries to drive the lane while defended by Auburn guard sJared Harper (1) and T.J. Dunans during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)
Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs (3) tries to drive the lane while defended by Auburn guard sJared Harper (1) and T.J. Dunans during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

— Dusty Hannahs is the player of the game

Mike Anderson called timeout with 11 seconds left on the shot clock and what had been a double-digit Arkansas lead cut down to 6 midway through the second half.

Following the timeout, Dusty Hannahs scored on a tough runner with the clock running out, a shot that sparked a personal run of 8 straight points for the senior guard. The lead was back up to 11 following the 1:16 stretch and Arkansas was never seriously threatened the remainder of the game.

Hannahs finished with 18 points on 7 of 14 shooting and hit a trio of 3-pointers. He’s put together some big second-half performances in recent weeks, scoring 12 after intermission against Alabama, 21 against Vanderbilt, 14 against LSU, 12 against South Carolina.

He had 10 in the second half Saturday, 8 of which came at a key juncture and signified a game-altering run in the Razorbacks’ win.

— Streaky Hogs stay hot

Arkansas has been a streaky team since SEC play began.

The Hogs lost 3 of their first 4 conference games, then rattled off 4 straight wins. A blowout nonconference loss at Oklahoma State kicked off another stretch of 3 losses in 4 games, including an ugly loss to lowly Missouri and a disheartening home defeat to Vanderbilt.

Saturday marked Arkansas’ fifth straight win, the first time since 1992 the Hogs have put together multiple 5-game conference winning streaks (the national title team won 12 straight in 1994).

Road wins over LSU, then-No. 21 South Carolina now Auburn give the Hogs an impressive 6-2 record away from Bud Walton Arena in conference play. And the Razorbacks recorded home wins over Ole Miss and Texas A&M during the last 8 days, reversing their surprising trend of struggling at home that hurt them earlier in SEC play.

Arkansas is sitting in third place in the conference standings, almost assured of a double bye for the SEC Tournament. Its NCAA Tournament chances are looking better and better each day, hopes that will boon if the Hogs could pull off an upset at Florida next week.

— Backcourt trio peaking at right time

Hannahs, Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon combined for 51 points on Saturday, the latest sign the trio of guards is starting to collectively play its best basketball as March gets closer.

Barford finished with a game-high 20 points, the fourth time in 9 games he’s cracked the 20-point mark. He’s averaging 16 points during the stretch.

Hannahs is averaging 16.5 points during the Hogs’ five-game winning streak. Macon scored 13 against the Tigers and is averaging 17 over the last five games, including the 30-point outburst against Ole Miss that earned him SEC Player of the Week honors.

In the winning streak, the trio is averaging 44.8 points per game, up from a combined 39.6 the first 24 games of the season. It’s no coincidence Arkansas is playing its best basketball at the same time its talented guards are putting up big numbers in tandem with each other.

— Frontcourt supporting cast steps up

Moses Kingsley only played 3 minutes in the first half after picking up 2 quick fouls, but Arkansas led 40-31 at the break thanks to solid performances from its frontcourt role players.

Arlando Cook came off the bench to score 8 first-half points in 11 minutes. He wound up playing 19 minutes, his most extensive playing time in more than a month.

Trey Thompson turned in another big performance, finishing with 6 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 3 assists in a career-high 29 minutes, filling Kingsley’s shoes for much of the game and playing next to him in the latter stages of the second half. The 6-foot-9 junior has been a spark during the winning streak.

Dustin Thomas and Adrio Bailey helped, too. Kingsley made a few key plays late and finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 15 minutes, the only time he’s played less than 20 minutes in the last 2 years.

That Arkansas was able to not only weather the storm without him on the court but stake a big lead says a lot about the way the other bigs stepped up and played in his absence.

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