The Arkansas Razorbacks (14-15, 5-11 SEC) will play their final home game of the season against the LSU Tigers (16-13, 8-8 SEC) on Wednesday inside Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Led by second-year head coach Matt McMahon, the Tigers have won two straight games over Georgia and Vanderbilt. LSU has also beaten Kentucky, South Carolina and Arkansas already this season.
Arkansas is coming off a hard-fought 111-102 defeat to No. 16 Kentucky that placed the Razorbacks one game under .500. Despite that, head coach Eric Musselman believes the team is making progress.
"Every coach that I’ve worked for, your job is to try and continue to improve throughout the year," Musselman said on Saturday. "We did not play very well against Vanderbilt, but we were down double-digits and fought and gave ourselves a chance to put the game into overtime, although we played poor basketball in that game. We showed some life towards the end of the game. Again, are we making progress? Today we made progress."
Guard Khalif Battle has scored over 30 points in three straight games, only the second Razorback to complete that feat (Mason Jones, 2020). His confidence has stood out to fellow guard Tramon Mark.
"I just see him being more aggressive when he drives the lane," Mark said on Saturday. "He shot 18 free throws, 17 of 18 free throws. I just see him being aggressive and confident and he’ll keep getting those calls and keep knocking down free throws, knocking down shots. He played good tonight."
This will be the 79th meeting between Arkansas and LSU, and it will be the 69th since the Razorbacks joined the SEC. Arkansas leads the all-time series, 42-36, and is 38-31 against the Tigers since joining the SEC. Arkansas has won four of the last six overall and leads the series in games played in Fayetteville, 23-8.
Earlier this year, LSU's Will Baker scored 25 points to lead the Tigers to a 95-74 victory on Feb. 3 in Baton Rouge. Arkansas was just 3-of-13 from deep and 23-of-33 at the line in that game, and Tramon Mark led the Hogs with 20 points and a team-best six rebounds. Jalen Graham added a season-high 18 points, while Makhi Mitchell had 10 points and a team-best four assists against LSU
Here's details on how to watch/listen, betting lines courtesy of BetSaracen and HawgBeat's pick:
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How to Watch/Listen
Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (14-15, 5-11 SEC) vs LSU Tigers (16-13, 8-8 SEC)
When: Wednesday – March 6 – 6:00 pm (CT)
Where: Fayetteville, Ark. • Bud Walton Arena – Nolan Richardson Court (19,200)
TV/Stream: SEC Network/Watch ESPN (Mike Morgan and Joe Kleine)
Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Sirius/XM: 383 Sirius / 383 XM / 973 SXM App
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SPREAD/TOTALS:
Moneyline:
Arkansas: -160
LSU: +140
Spread:
Arkansas: -3.5 (-105)
LSU: +3.5 (-115)
Totals:
Total Points:
OVER 155.5 (--105)
UNDER 155.5 (-115)
Team Totals:
Arkansas OVER 79.5 (-110)
Arkansas UNDER 79.5 (-120)
LSU OVER 76.5 (-120)
LSU UNDER 76.5 (-110)
(Alternate lines, spreads and team totals are available on the BetSaracen mobile app.)
(Lines and odds are subject to change at any point after the publishing of this story. HawgBeat does not guarantee any bet as a winner or loser. You must be at least 21 years of age to use BetSaracen. If you have a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net)
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HAWGBEAT'S PICK: LSU +3.5 (-115)
Arkansas may be playing better offensively, but the Hogs' defense is still very suspect. Sure, giving up 111 points to Kentucky is understandable, but allowing Vanderbilt to drop 85 points inside Bud Walton Arena is unaccaptable.
LSU is feeling itself after winning four of its last five games, including ranked victories over South Carolina and Kentucky. The Tigers also mopped the floor the last time they faced the Razorbacks, a 95-74 blowout on Feb. 3.
This one could go either way, but based off trends I like LSU to keep this one close and potentially steal a road win over Arkansas.
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- CB
- OLB
- DT
- ATH
- WR
- S
- C
- SDE
- ILB
- DT
