Over a third of Auburn basketball's rotation — four newcomers added this offseason — came into Saturday having never played in an SEC game before.

The intensity in Bud Walton Arena may have rattled a few of them, but not Chad Baker-Mazara.

Baker-Mazara dropped 16 points on 55.5% shooting to help the Tigers earn a 83-51 win over Arkansas in the conference opener. It's the first time coach Bruce Pearl has left the Basketball Palace of Mid-America with a victory since his team beat the Razorbacks in January 2020.

While Baker-Mazara stood out individually, Auburn's team defense was also key. It took Arkansas 3:21 to score its first points, and the Razorbacks began by missing their first five attempts from the floor. Arkansas finished 31% from the field and 29.2% from 3-point range.

The 32-point loss Auburn handed Arkansas is the biggest in Bud Walton Arena history.

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Sweet shooting abandons Auburn basketball

Auburn began its last win against Penn by connecting on five of its first seven attempts from beyond the arc.

That was far from the case against Arkansas, as the Tigers began by missing six shots from deep. The first 3-pointer to go down came off the fingertips of Baker-Mazara, who finished with two makes from 3-point range. The rest of Auburn's players combined to miss 10 of their 15 triples.

Battling inside

With their 3-point shooting issues, Auburn took the ball inside often. The Tigers outscored the Razorbacks in the paint (48-18), won the rebounding battle (46-32) and hauled in 11 offensive boards. Johni Broome was the second-leading scorer for Pearl with 14 points.

Getting chippy

There were three technicals assessed throughout the game, two on Auburn and one on Arkansas' Devo Davis for shoving Baker-Mazara. Sophomore point guard Tre Donaldson earned one for trash talking after converting a coast-to-coast layup, and Baker-Mazara picked one up in the first half for barking at Davis following Auburn's first made 3-pointer.

What's next

The Tigers will return to Neville Arena for a matchup with Texas A&M on Tuesday. The Aggies have beaten coach Bruce Pearl's squad three consecutive times, including a win in January 2023 that snapped Auburn's 28-game home winning streak.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball makes statement with crushing win over Arkansas