AUBURN, Ala. — JD Notae scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and Arkansas placed five in double figures to remain undefeated with a 97-85 win at Auburn to open Southeastern Conference play on Wednesday night.
Notae came into halftime with just one shot and two points in eight minutes on the court. He became a force in the second half, scoring 19, pulling down three defensive rebounds, making four steals and blocking a shot.
Every time Auburn began to gain momentum, Notae seemed to have a hand in stopping it.
Desi Sills led the Razorbacks (9-0) with 23 points, making four 3-pointers, Connor Vanover added 17, Moses Moody 16 and Jalen Tate 12.
Jamal Johnson scored 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting to lead Auburn (6-3). Allen Flanigan tossed in 19 points with 10 rebounds, Devan Cambridge scored 15 and Jaylin Williams 13.
The Tigers were 4-0 at home this season and saw a five-game win streak snapped. Auburn held a 12-11 lead for 19 seconds early in the game and trailed by as many as 10 before turning the second half into a scrap.
Flanigan pulled Auburn into a 74-all tie with 7:30 remaining, but Vanover dunked on a second-chance basket to ignite a 10-0 run for Arkansas.
The Razorbacks are off to 8-0 and 9-0 starts in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94. The conference opener was played before 1,824 in the 9,121 seat Auburn Arena.
Arkansas hosts No. 12 Missouri on Saturday. Auburn is at Texas A&M on Saturday.
EARLIER
Desi Sills scored a career-high 23 points and JD Notae added 21 as Arkansas passed its first road test of the season in impressive fashion, defeating Auburn 97-85 on the road.
Notae added 19 of his 21 points in the second half, and Sills scored 16 before halftime. Connor Vanover pitched in 17 points and Moses Moody had 16 in his SEC debut.
Davonte Davis provided the Razorbacks big minutes off the bench. He scored four points and finished with two steals in his 13 minutes. Arkansas outscored Auburn by nine points in that span.
The Tigers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end despite hitting 15 of 29 from 3-point range. Jamal Johnson led Auburn with 21 points and Allen Flanigan had 19.
We will have more from tonight's game later on WholeHogSports.com.
Arkansas 92, Auburn 83 - 20 seconds left
JD Notae has six of the Razorbacks' last eight points, and it looks like Arkansas is going to get out of Auburn with a win.
Arkansas has been terrific offensively down the stretch, getting good looks while milking clock all at once. Notae has scored 17 of 19 points in the second half. He has scored double-digit points in the second half of the Razorbacks' last four games.
Desi Sills has 20 points, Connor Vanover 17, Moses Moody 16. Great balance tonight.
Arkansas 82, Auburn 74 - 3:50 left
Razorbacks are on an 8-0 run over the last 3:11 of this one, and the Tigers have not scored in 3:40. They have turned the ball over four times in that span.
Devo Davis is stating his case for more playing time tonight. He is making winning play after winning play. Just hustle plays. Arkansas is plus-9 in his 10 minutes on the floor.
Connor Vanover, Moses Moody and JD Notae have combined for Arkansas' last 13 points.
Gut check time for the Razorbacks in the final segment of this game.
Arkansas 74, Auburn 72 - 7:30 left
JD Notae has a team-high nine points since halftime, but he has taken a couple of ill-advised shots of late that Arkansas can't afford in a tight game like this. Decision making has to be better than that.
Razorbacks are shooting just 39.1% from the floor and are 2 of 10 from deep. Devo Davis has given solid minutes in the second half minus a careless over-and-back turnover. He added a layup off a Notae assist a few minutes ago.
Justin Smith (ankle) will not return to the game. That's a big blow for Arkansas losing its top offensive rebounder and iron man on the interior.
Desi Sills has 20 points and Moses Moody has 14. He just knocked down a really smooth jumper from the left short corner.
Auburn will be at the line when play resumes looking to tie the game.
Arkansas 65, Auburn 59 - 11:48 left
JD Notae just hit a pair of big 3s to give the Razorbacks a bit of breathing room. Auburn had pulled within one point, but Notae and Desi Sills combined to go on an 8-2 run themselves.
Sills actually just went down with an eye injury after getting a really tough layup to fall. Trainers were putting drops in his eye on the sideline. He's got 20 points tonight and has been the heartbeat of this team.
Moses Moody and Jalen Tate each have 12 points. Allen Flanigan has seven second-half points for the Tigers and 13 for the game.
Arkansas 55, Auburn 54 - 15:11 left
The Tigers are on a 10-2 run and have trimmed Arkansas' lead to one at the first media timeout of the second half.
Justin Smith did not start the second half and has not played through four-plus minutes due to an ankle injury. He rolled it in the first half and hasn't returned since. Vance Jackson began the second half in his place and was pulled soon after for not hitting the defensive glass and committing a turnover.
Allen Flanigan has five points for the Tigers since halftime, and Jaylin Williams has four for the Tigers.
Moses Moody will be at the line for two shots when play resumes. He attacked the rim and attempted to go up and over an Auburn defender and drew a whistle.
Desi Sills is up to 18 points tonight. Arkansas is 4 of 10 from the floor since halftime and 0 of 3 from deep.
Arkansas 47, Arkansas 41 - Half
Desi Sills turned in a terrific first half, scoring a game-high 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting and 4 of 5 from deep. He hit three 3s over the final 1:40 of the half.
Moses Moody added 10 points on 3 of 6 from the floor, and Jalen Tate pitched in eight points and four assists. Connor Vanover has seven points.
Arkansas shot 56.3% from the floor in the first half and assisted on 11 of its 18 scores. The Razorbacks scored at a 1.306 PPP clip in the first half. That is terrific.
Defensively, though, it was a struggle for Arkansas limiting Auburn's perimeter looks. The Tigers hit 9 of 17 attempts from 3. Devan Cambridge hit 3 of 4 tries and scored a team-high nine points.
Justin Powell, who entered the game averaging 13.9 points per game, is 1 of 4 shooting with two points and four turnovers, but he does have six assists. Slowing his role offensively has been big, but now the Razorbacks need to clamp down on the surrounding cast.
Allen Flanigan has six points and three boards for Auburn.
Arkansas 36, Auburn 34 - 2:32 left first half
The Tigers went on a 12-2 run to tie things up at 34-34, but Desi Sills hit Jalen Tate with a great pass for a floater in the middle of the lane. Tate picked up a foul to send us to the final media timeout of the first half.
On the offensive possession following Sills' assist to Tate, Sills dribbled into the lane from the top of the key and found a wide open Moses Moody in the left corner, but he missed. Arkansas needs to hit big shots like that to get out with a win tonight.
Tate is having a solid game. He's up to eight points to match Moody, and he has four assists. Connor Vanover, who hit a 3 near the halfcourt logo earlier, has missed his last three tries from 3. JD Notae has two points, an assist and one block to this point. He hasn't forced the issue at all so far.
Auburn is 8 of 16 from deep to this point, and Devan Cambridge has a team-high nine points.
Arkansas 32, Auburn 27 - 7:28 left first half
Connor Vanover buried a 3 with his heels on the AU midcourt logo in Auburn Arena, giving the Razorbacks a 10-point lead. But back-to-back quick 3s in transition for Arkansas turned into easy offense for the Tigers.
Auburn is on a mini 5-0 run behind another 3 from Devan Cambridge. He's been hot tonight, hitting 3 of 4 attempts from deep.
Arkansas 25, Auburn 20 - 11:13 left first half
Auburn continues to shoot the 3 well. The Tigers have knocked down 6 of their first 10 looks from deep. Arkansas has to do a better job recognizing threats beyond the arc and running them off the line.
JD Notae and Justin Smith have added layups since the last break, and Desi Sills hit a left-wing 3.
Ten of Auburn's 13 shots to this point have been 3s. Fifty-one percent of their shots entering tonight's game were triples. Allen Flanigan and Devan Cambridge lead the Tigers with six points.
Something else I like about Arkansas' play: eight assists on 11 scores. Jalen Tate leads the team with three.
Arkansas 18, Auburn 12 - 14:50 left first half
Razorbacks are off to about as good an offensive start as you could ask for.
Moses Moody is leading the way offensively to this point. He has eight points on 3 of 3 from the floor and 2 of 2 from deep. He has buried a pair of left-wing 3s. Connor Vanover has four points on 2 of 3 shooting while Desi Sills, Justin Smith and Jalen Tate each have a bucket, too.
Smith will be at the line when play resumes. He was fouled as he made a layup in transition. Razorbacks are 8 of 11 shooting in the early going.
Only downside to the start is defending the 3. Auburn has made 4 of 7 from deep so far. Allen Flanigan has six points.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Tate, Moses Moody, Desi Sills, Justin Smith and Connor Vanover.
Sills enters his third round of SEC play in the midst of the second-best scoring stretch of his college career, averaging 15.5 points over his last four games. He has added 17 points per game in Arkansas' last three outings, and he is leading the SEC in steals with 15.
Moody leads the Razorbacks in scoring at 16.9 points per game on 51.2% from the floor, and JD Notae, who has come off the bench in all eight games this season, is second at 14.3. Arkansas is shooting 34.9% from 3-point range as a team, led by 16 makes from Notae and 15 from Moody.
Smith's offensive rebound rate of 13.7% percent is good for 67th nationally, per KenPom. And Vanover has grabbed better than 31% of available defensive rebounds as well.
Auburn's starters: Allen Flanigan (6-6), Devan Cambridge (6-6), Justin Powell (6-6), Jaylin Williams (6-8) and JT Thor (6-10).
This is the sixth consecutive start for this group. According to HoopLens analytics, it has outscored its last four opponents 36-32 over the last five games and grabbed only 8.3% of available offensive rebounds.
Flanigan and Powell make the Tigers tick offensively. Flanigan, a Little Rock native, is 16 of 41 from 3-point range this season and a very effective 69% inside the arc. Powell has knocked down 19 of 37 looks from deep and has assisted on 33% of Auburn's scores when on the floor.
Powell and Williams are the team's best defensive rebounders, while Babatunde Akingbola, a 6-10 forward, is the Tigers' top offensive rebounder, grabbing 11% of available misses when in the lineup.
Auburn has been turnover prone to this point in the season, tallying a miscue on 23% of their possessions, according to KenPom data. We'll see if Arkansas can make the Tigers pay there.