For an audio preview of tonight’s contest, click here to hear the Gameday Insider with Morning News sports writers Nathan Allen and Ryan Malashock.

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It’s clean slate time for John Pelphrey’s Razorbacks. After going 1-7 in the first half of Southeastern Conference play, Arkansas can now decide to act as if its conference mark is 0-0. Tonight in Auburn, Ala., the Hogs get their first chance to prove whether they learned from their frustrating first half of league action.

Arkansas (13-8, 1-7) at Auburn (14-9, 3-5)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Beard-Eaves Coliseum, Auburn, Ala.
TV: None
Radio: 107.9-FM, 92.1-FM, 105.3-FM, 1290-AM for those in our readership area
Line: Auburn by 6
Series: Arkansas leads 23-14 (Auburn leads 10-7 in Auburn)
Last Meeting: Auburn beat Arkansas 73-51 on Jan. 24 in Fayetteville

About Auburn

Arkansas is coming off an 86-77 loss this past Saturday at Mississippi State, and its opponent tonight shares many similarities with the Bulldogs. Auburn often starts four guards, like Mississippi State, and possesses a dominant post presence (Korvotney Barber), also like the Bulldogs.

The Tigers, who shoot the most 3-pointers of any SEC team, can hurt you from a variety of positions on the court. Starting guards DeWayne Reed, Tay Waller and Rasheem Barrett and power forward Lucas Hargrove all don’t show much shyness beyond the 3-point arc. Auburn upset Tennessee 78-77 at home this past Saturday despite hitting only 5 of its 19 shots from 3-point range.

Players To Watch

Arkansas
Jason Henry, 6-6, 189-pound freshman guard/forward

The West Memphis native has provided an immediate spark upon entering Arkansas’ starting lineup. Henry hasn’t shown any tentativeness despite being outsized as the Razorbacks’ de-facto power forward. He has scored in double figures in Arkansas’ last three games and is averaging 6.5 rebounds in his past four contests.

Auburn
Lucas Hargrove, 6-6, 205-pound junior forward

Early in the season, Hargrove struggled to produce with any semblance of consistency. But lately, he has forced Auburn coach Jeff Lebo to put him in the starting lineup. Hargrove is versatile, able to score inside and out, and he is Auburn’s best 3-point shooter during conference play, making 8 of his 18 shots from beyond the arc.

Gameday Links

• Here’s my story in today’s Morning News on the collective leadership effort taking place for Arkansas. Robbie Neiswanger has the scouting report on Barber, Auburn’s second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, and here are my keys to an Arkansas victory.

• Charles Goldberg of the Birmingham News has noticed that Barrett has thrived lately because of his mastery of a lost art: the mid-range jump shot.

• An article by the Associated Press looks at whether Auburn could be too confident going into tonight’s contest.