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Hogs hold off Auburn to win SEC opener, 97-85

Arkansas withstands a barrage from deep to move to 9-0

AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas headed to Auburn with plenty on their mind, as Eric Musselman was making his return to the bench while the team was looking to stay perfect on the season and open SEC play with a bang.

That energy was evident from the tip, when Moses Moody buried a three seconds in to start the scoring. A Vanover dunk followed by a Desi Sills steal and layup, and the Hogs were rolling, up 7-0. Then came the threes. All the threes.

They weren't even necessarily great looks, but Auburn forgot how to miss. The Tigers ended up shooting 9-17 from deep in the first alone, while hitting just 2-9 from the charity stripe. Sills helped the Razorbacks keep pace, going 4-5 from deep in the first half, and Arkansas held a 47-41 lead at the break.

The second half was more back and forth, trading punches basketball. Every time Arkansas threatened to pull away, Auburn just knocked down another shot, getting within one point three times in the first ten minutes of the second half.

After the under-12 timeout, the Hogs finally started clamping down on the perimeter defense,, and began to build a bigger lead. The Razorbacks move to 9-0 on the season, and start off league play with a big win. Up next, it's the SEC home opener, when Missouri comes to town on Saturday. 

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