AUBURN | No. 1 Auburn shot just 4 of 24 from the 3-point line including 0 of 10 in the second half. The Tigers’ 12 turnovers were the second-most in conference play.

AU gave up 11 layups and six dunks. Yet when the final buzzer sounded at Neville Arena, Auburn walked away with a hard-fought 67-60 win over Arkansas.

The best teams find ways to win when they don’t play well. And Auburn was that team again Wednesday night.

“Our offense left a lot to be desired tonight,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl. “Our execution wasn't very good. I don't think our shot selection was great. When you only have 11 assists and 12 turnovers -- I don't think we shared it as well as we have been.

“But our guys competed. They did not let the fact that we weren't making shots or playing well offensively, you know, affect their defense. Holding Arkansas to 60 points is significant.”

The Tigers came out on top by dominating the boards and playing pretty good defense themselves. AU was plus-13 in rebounding and turned 13 offensive boards into 16 second-chance points.

The Razorbacks shot just 3 of 19 from beyond the arc and had 11 turnovers. AU’s bench also out-scored UA 33-8.

"They're not a great three-point shooting team,” said Pearl. “We've got great length on the perimeter, so we did get out there, and we contested some shots. I thought they had some pretty clean looks that they just missed."

Another key for AU was its ability to step up in the final three minutes. After going down by one point with 3:09 left, AU held UA without a field goals and finished the game on a 10-2 run.

Auburn made its final six free throws with Chad Baker-Mazara going 4 of 4 and Denver Jones 2 of 2.

“I feel like when it comes into crunch time, the guys stay very focused and locked in to the coaches’ game plan,” said Baker-Mazara. “We just have to come out there and execute.”

Auburn, which improved to 24-2 overall and 12-1 in the SEC, hosts Georgia Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN.