Auburn Hoops Stays Unbeaten

Proving its doubters wrong has sure become fun for Auburn.

Chris Porter scored 20 points Wednesday night to lead the 14th-ranked Tigers to an 83-66 victory over No. 19 Arkansas, tying the second best start in school history.

" Auburn is basketball at its best, definitely a Top Ten team," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said. "I think they have done a good job answering their critics, the people who said they needed to beat Arkansas to be for real. I never thought that, this team is for real."

Auburn (14-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) led 68-61 with 3:07 to play in the game. But the Tigers, playing in front of a second consecutive sellout for the first time in school history, closed the game with a 15-5 run to start the season 14-0 for the first time since 1927.

Fans then stormed the court, exchanging high-fives with Porter and the rest of the Tigers.

"The electricity, the energy, it was just a great college game," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "You'd think the Auburn people have always been like this."

Richardson, who was pelted with plastic cups and debris as he left the court, had nothing negative to say afterwards.

"I don't want to spoil their party, they have something good here," Richardson said. "But the road is rough and Auburn knows it still has to come to Arkansas."

Arkansas (11-3, 1-1), which had won five straight games over the Tigers and 10 of 14 since joining the SEC in 1991, had eight second-half turnovers and 17 overall.

The Razorbacks tried to shut down Auburn's inside game, but it backfired when Auburn exploited the perimeter as guards Doc Robinson scored 19 points and Scott Pohlman scored 11.

Auburn alo outrebounded Arkansas 47-35, getting 19 on the offensive end. Mamadou N'diaye, who played in foul trouble most of the game, led the Tigers with 12 rebounds and four blocks.

"I thought the real big guy in the game was Mamadou. He controlled the middle," Richardson said.

Richardson had Brandon Dean guarding the 7-foot N'diaye most of the game, which was a very uneven match-up.

"You don't challenge a gorilla when you're only six feet," Richardson said. "You say I'm going to get a gun and I'll be back."

Richardson said he felt Porter and N'diaye were future NBA first-round draft picks.

"The best teams in the league have to have those kind of players and Auburn has them," he said.

Auburn, which turned the ball over twice in the first half and nine times for the game, had a 38-28 halftime lead. But the Razorbacks opened the second half with an 8-0 run.

Robinson answered with consecutive 3-pointers and the Tigers went on a 23-15 run to make it 61-51 with 8:47 to play. Arkansas never got closer than 64-59 after that.

Dean led Arkansas with 20 points, while Reid had 12 and Chris Jefferies 10. Pat Bradley, the Razorbacks' career leader in 3-pointers, was held without a 3 for the second straight game and had only seven points.

"Coach Ellis told me that Pat Bradley was the key to their offense and I tried to make it the worst night he could have," said forward Bryant Smith.

Both teams shot only 41 percent for the game. But while the Razorbacks felt it hurt them, it didn't affect Auburn.

"It's no secret that we didn't shoot the ball well, but defense is what kept us in it," Smith said.

Auburn, which is beating teams by an NCAA-leading 29.2 points per game, goes on the road for six of its next eight games.

"The talent is there, but when they get out on the road, we'll see," Richardson said. "It's a long season and anything can happen."

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