Auburn vs Arkansas: Betting Odds, Picks, and Predictions (2/8/22)

By Tanner McGrath | Feb 07, 2022, 9:21pm

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Auburn vs Arkansas Betting Odds

The No. 1 team in the country will travel to Fayetteville this week attempting to build on its 18-game win streak.

Auburn continues to win. However, the Tigers have had some questionable results recently.

Meanwhile, Arkansas is starting to streak. The Razorbacks have won seven straight games and have snuck up to third in the SEC. Earlier this season, everyone was saying the Razorbacks were broken, so this is a great response by coach Eric Musselman.

Auburn is laying 2.5 points on the road in this spot, so do we buy Arkansas as short home dogs?

Auburn Tigers Odds

Auburn is an amazing 16-5 against the spread as a favorite this season. But here are the Tigers’ last four games:

74-72 over Georgia (16-point favorite)
100-81 over Alabama (5.5-point favorite)
86-68 over Oklahoma (10.5-point favorite)
55-54 over Missouri (12.5-point favorite)

Georgia and Missouri aren’t just the worst teams in the SEC, those two are the worst two power conference teams nationally.

Additionally, Auburn recently took down Kentucky 80-71 at home. However, the Tigers were trailing in the first half before both of Kentucky’s guards exited with injuries.

It’s easy to be slightly skeptical of Auburn. But the Tigers are going to get everyone’s best punch, and Bruce Pearl’s squad has survived – so far.

Jabari Smith’s resume for the No. 1 overall pick is looking better by the day. Not only is lethal offensively, but he’s also one of the best defensive players on the Tigers. And no 6-foot-10 big man should have a jumper that smooth.

Well, this is basically the Jabari Smith sales pitch in a 14 second clip pic.twitter.com/86qXjLCnH7

— Draft Dummies (@DraftDummies) February 2, 2022

However, Auburn is, maybe, the most well-rounded team in the country. The guard play is fantastic with Wendell Green and KD Johnson. Plus, the Tigers have a great rim protector in Walker Kessler, who can also score on the interior when needed.

The metrics don’t love Auburn, but War Eagle is deserving of the top spot in the polls.

Arkansas Razorbacks Odds

Back on January 8th, the Razorbacks had just lost to Texas A&M to drop to 0-3 in SEC play. That was also the Razorbacks’ fifth loss in six games.

Arkansas looked broken.

But Musselman rallied the troops and led the Razorbacks to seven straight games. The Razorbacks have also covered in their last four games.

Arkansas pulled a similar trick last season. After starting the conference season 6-4 with a loss to Oklahoma State in the SEC-Big 12 challenge, the Razorbacks ended the season on a seven-game winning streak.

Arkansas couldn’t win the SEC tournament, but the team did streak to the Elite Eight, losing to eventual champion Baylor.

Is this team capable of a run like that?

Maybe. The year-long defensive statistics are poor, but the Razorbacks are atop the SEC in conference-only defensive efficiency. The Razorbacks are also rebounding better than last year.

JD Notae continues to carry the team offensively (18.7 points per game, 32.2 shot%) as the Razorbacks continue to miss Moses Moody. It might be tough for Arkansas to score enough on Notae’s back.

Auburn vs Arkansas Prediction and Pick

My pick: Live bet Arkansas in the first half at +8 or better

Musselman likes to get out to slow starts during the season-long race. However, he also tends to start slow in individual games.

For some reason, Arkansas will often look completely discombobulated early, and then Musselman rallies the troops and the Razorbacks wake up with a scoring run.

I’m hoping that happens in this game. If the Razorbacks get into an early hole and we can get a great number with the Razorbacks as a home dog, I love that play.

Arkansas has the defense to compete with Auburn, who is probably exhausted running the gauntlet of the SEC. We’ve seen this Tigers squad play down to competition this season, and I could see them doing it again.

I’d just rather catch the extra points before backing Arkansas.

If you can’t get a good line live in the first half, pass on this game.

Tanner McGrath

Tanner joined Lineups to cover everything, but he has vast experience in, and unlimited passion for, Major League Baseball and NCAA Basketball. He’s a McGill University grad and former (Canadian) Division-I alpine ski racer who now spends his time drinking beer and betting home underdogs. Patrick Mahomes is a poor man’s Tom Brady.