Allen Flanigan knocked down a mid-range jumper with 41 seconds left to give Auburn a 73-72 lead. Flanigan’s shot gave the Tigers their first lead in the 76-73 loss against Arkansas in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Auburn led under 30 seconds before Nick Smith hit a two-pointer with 16 seconds left to put the Razorbacks ahead 74-73. K.D. Johnson, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, had a chance to put the Tigers back ahead.

Tigers’ head coach Bruce Pearl felt the sequence that ended with a Wendell Green turnover that led to Johni Broome fouling Davonte Davis, who hit both free throws to give Arkansas a 76-73 lead, was controversial. Green drove to the basket and was met by two Razorbacks.

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“We made two really good runs in both halves, including taking the lead late,” Pearl said. “Like the kids said, all we really needed was that stop at the end. I thought we got fouled at the end also.”

Auburn ends its season with a 20-12 record and 10-9 in SEC action. Pearl’s squad will travel back to the Plains on Friday morning. He said the team would practice on Saturday and await Sunday’s decision from the NCAA selection committee.

“We talked to the guys about where we’d be potentially seeded, what it would look like,” Pearl said. “Find out where we’re going Sunday. We talked about we were going to be somewhere between 8, 9, and 10, would be my guess. What the first game would look like, and what could the second game look like against the one and the two.”

Auburn finished the season with a 4-9 record in its final 13 games after starting with a 16-3 record. There’s a lot to process from another tough loss for the Tigers’ here are a few observations.

Comeback crew

Auburn trailed by 15 points with a little over 14 minutes left. They didn’t score their first made basket in the first half until nearly six minutes into the game on a three by Green. Auburn made furious runs in both halves, but the poor shooting was too much to overcome.

“I think they were just beating us on the ball screen, our ball screen defense, just out-rebounding us,” Green said. “They beat us at the beginning of the first half, the beginning of the second half. I think that’s kind of where we lost the game.”

Flanigan scored 13 points in the second half, including the shot that gave the Tigers a one-point advantage. His shot was one that he often works on in practice.

“I used my quick burst to get downhill off the screen by Johni,” Flanigan said. “I was able to explode then hold myself back to let their big go by to get an open look.”

Rebounding woes

Auburn got outrebounded 37-19 in the loss. Arkansas shot 3-11 from three compared to 5-16 by Auburn. However, the advantage of getting 13 offensive rebounds to Auburn’s six led to the Razorbacks outscoring Auburn 18-6 on second-chance points.

Anthony Black had six rebounds and 19 points for Arkansas. His tenacity in crashing the boards was a problem for Auburn.

Black is a terrific player. I think giving him credit for crashing, but our guys didn’t do a good enough job of putting a body on him,” Pearl said. “I don’t recall us getting a foul checking him out. That wasn’t an issue. We should have been more physical keeping him off the boards.”

Emotional rollercoaster

Auburn’s chances to win ended when Green’s three went off the front of the rim. Johnson brought the ball up the court with hopes of getting a quick layup. Arkansas defended the play well, and Pearl called a timeout with less than four seconds left.

Just try to get me downhill, and make a play. Kind of slipped on the end. They just called a timeout, draw up a play, and just didn’t go in. I live with that night and day. He’s still my teammate, you know, so, that’s all good.”

Within 20 seconds, Auburn went from overcoming a 15-point deficit to a crushing defeat.

I feel so badly about our fans, the fact that we’re not going to get to play in front of them again for another couple of days. I feel badly about that. A lot of families are here, and went through a lot of expense to get here. We’re disappointed that we let them down.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.