Auburn gets back on track with blowout win over No. 15 Arkansas

The Auburn Tigers' 2025-26 season has been defined by tough losses, but Saturday's win could give it another meaning.

The Tigers (10-6, 1-2 in SEC) handled Associated Press No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks (12-4, 2-1 in SEC), 95-73, for their second-largest win against a ranked opponent while unranked in program history, behind only an 81-57 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide on January 23, 2007. (h/t Stathead)

Auburn shot 57 percent, and senior forward Keyshawn Hall led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range. 

Blowout win could be spark Auburn Tigers need to get back on track

Auburn got off to a rough start in head coach Steven Pearl's first season after his father, Bruce Pearl, retired in September 2025. The Tigers experienced a one-point loss to No. 7 Houston Cougars (15-1, 3-0 in Big 12), 73-72, at the RxBenefits Battleground 2k25 on Nov. 16, then a 30-point blowout at the hands of No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (14-1, 2-1 in Big Ten) nine days later.

Losses to No. 1 Arizona Wildcats (16-0, 3-0 in Big 12) and No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers (15-1, 5-0 in Big Ten) by a combined 57 points left the team unranked entering conference play, which began with a 104-100 overtime loss to No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1 in SEC) and 90-88 home loss to the Texas A&M Aggies (13-3, 3-0 in SEC) when senior KeShawn Murphy's three-pointer at the buzzer was ruled no good, having left his hand right after the clock hit triple zeros.

It's been that kind of year.

But maybe Auburn's luck is changing. Saturday's win featured what was arguably the team's best defensive performance of the season.

After Georgia and Texas A&M combined to shoot 52.4 percent (40.7 percent from deep) against the Tigers, Arkansas only made 43.1 percent of its attempts in the 22-point loss. Auburn had 11 steals, up from its average of 7.3 against Division I opponents this season.

The Tigers have one of the country's top offenses, averaging 87.5 points per game following Saturday's win. The defense, however, has been an eyesore, entering the day No. 317 in points allowed (79.5). They must remain as active defensively as they were against the Razorbacks to avoid the blowout win from being the season's highlight.

Auburn has a chance to go on a bit of a run with upcoming games against the Missouri Tigers (12-4, 2-1 in SEC), South Carolina Gamecocks (10-6, 1-2 in SEC) and Ole Miss Rebels (9-7, 1-2 in SEC) before a road trip to the defending national champion Florida Gators (11-5, 2-1 in SEC).

The SEC isn't as strong as it was a season ago, when it set the record for most NCAA Tournament bids, opening the door for the Tigers to re-enter the conversation over the next two months before the SEC Tournament begins on March 11. If they do, Saturday's win over Arkansas will mark the moment everything clicked.