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Arkansas vs. Auburn: How to watch, odds, predictions from ESPN, KenPom

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•01/07/23•

BarkleyTruax

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One of two ranked matchups for Saturday’s college basketball slate, No. 22 Auburn hosts No. 13 Arkansas in a huge clash between SEC title contenders to kick conference play into full gear. Here is all you need to know ahead of the game.

How to watch Arkansas vs. Auburn

Tip-off: 8:30 p.m. ET

Location: Auburn, Alabama

Channel: SEC Network

Vegas odds

Auburn is a 2.5-point favorite over Arkansas on Saturday, according to VegasInsider. The over-under is set at 141.5 points.

ESPN BPI prediction

Predicted winner: Auburn

Predicted point differential: 2.2

The win probability (for Auburn): 57%

Matchup quality: 93.4

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI has Arkansas vs. Auburn ranked as the 2nd highest-rated game on Thursday’s slate in terms of matchup quality.

KenPom prediction

Predicted final score: Arkansas 69, Auburn 68

The win probability (for Arkansas): 51%

KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. Unlike ESPN, KenPom projects that Arkansas comes away with a victory over Auburn.

More on Arkansas vs. Auburn

Arkansas had to overcome its biggest dececit (18) of the season against No. 20 Missouri on Wednesday. The win earned the Razorbacks their first SEC of the win, and Eric Musselman’s squad will be seeking their first conference road win of the year at Auburn Arena. They prevously dropped their SEC opener on the road 60-57 against LSU.

Auburn had similar struggles in its first SEC road trip earlier in the week. The Tigers fell 76-64 to a vastly improved Georgia Bulldogs team under first-year head coach Mike White on UGA’s home court. Both are 1-1 in conference play entering Saturday.

ESPN ranks this matchup the second highest in quality, and all the prediction services are essentially split down the middle. The game’s a toss-up, which means we’ll just have to tune into the SEC Network later tonight.