Arkansas defeats LSU, 60-40
After taking a loss in Baton Rouge to start out SEC play, the Arkansas Razorbacks (14-6, 3-5) got revenge over the LSU Tigers (12-8, 1-7) on Tuesday with a dominant 60-40 win inside Bud Walton Arena on a snowy night in Fayetteville.
The Tigers posted just 14 points in the first half, and despite bringing the game within 11 on multiple occasions in the second half, they had no answer for the Hogs. LSU's 40 points were the lowest total by an Arkansas opponent all season.
Davonte Davis led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Three other Hogs were in double-digits also — Anthony Black (14) , Ricky Council IV (10) and Makhi Mitchell (10).
Arkansas shot 45.1% from the field in the game, while the Tigers made just 25.9% of their shots. The Hogs forced 15 LSU turnovers and out-rebounded them 36-35.
Here's a recap of Tuesday's game, which was Arkansas' third win of the conference schedule.
Defense was the theme through the first four minutes of the game, as Arkansas led 6-2 at the first media timeout. By that point, the Hogs had a steal, two blocks — both from Makhi Mitchell — and LSU was 0-of-5 shooting from the field.
LSU's first field goal of the game dropped at the 14:48 mark, and it cut the Arkansas lead to two. Just two possessions later, Davis knocked down Arkansas' first three to put his team up by five.
By the under-12 media timeout, LSU had just two made field goals and the Razorbacks were ahead 15-8. Makhi Mitchell's second foul of the game resulted in KJ Williams knocking down a trio of free throws out of the break to trim the Arkansas lead to four.
A 9-0 run over the span of two minutes put Arkansas up 24-11 and forced an LSU timeout. The timeout did nothing, as the Hogs extended their run to 15-0 and forced Tigers head coach Matt McMahon to ask for another break.
LSU had no answer for the Hogs, nor did it have any offense. Arkansas finished the half on a 23-3 run, and those three points were the same number as made field goals by the Tigers in the first half.
LSU tied its first half total with three made field goals in the first two minutes of the second half. Anthony Black earned his third personal foul at the 16:18 mark, and not even 30 seconds later, the Tigers extended their start of the second half run to 13-2, cutting the Arkansas lead to 13.
By the under-12 timeout of the second half, Arkansas remained up by 13, but it had already matched its first half total of turnovers (five) to have a game total of 10.
A transition dunk by Trae Hannibal made it an 11-point game and forced the Razorbacks, who looked gassed, to ask for a timeout at the 9:18 mark.
Arkansas went on a 13-5 run, featuring a trio of alley-oops, after that point to hold a comfortable 59-40 lead with 3:23 to play and the fans at Bud Walton Arena sticking around despite the bad weather out.
The final three minutes featured just one free throw from Black, and the Hogs dribbled the clock out to emerge victorious.
Up next, the Razorbacks will travel to Waco, Texas, for a matchup with the No. 17 Baylor Bears on Saturday in the SEC/Big-12 challenge. The game will tipoff at 3 p.m. CT and it will be broadcast on ESPN.
Box Score
