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Pregame Stuff
No. 15 Arkansas (24-7, 13-5 SEC) vs. LSU (22-10, 9-9 SEC)
Tipoff: 25 minutes after Auburn-Texas A&M (approx. 1:30 p.m. CT)
TV: ESPN
Point spread: Arkansas, -2
O/U: 139
ESPN BPI: LSU has 60.2% chance to win, favored by 2.9 points
BartTorvik: Arkansas has 52% chance to win, favored by 0.6 points (proj. score: 70-69)
**Winner advances to SEC Tournament semifinals and will face winner of Auburn-Texas A&M at noon CT Saturday**
NOTES
~LSU is No. 16 in the latest NET rankings, while Arkansas is No. 20. That means it's a Quadrant 1 opportunity for both teams.
~The Razorbacks beat the Tigers 65-58 in Baton Rouge back on Jan. 15 and 77-76 in Fayetteville just last week. Click here and here to read HawgBeat's key takeaways from those wins.
~It has been 21 years since Arkansas beat a team three times in one year. That was back in 2000-01 and, interestingly, came against LSU. The Razorbacks swept a home-and-home against the Tigers and then beat them again in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. LSU finished three games under .500 and went just 2-14 in SEC play that year.
NOTE: Au'Diese Toney is back in the starting lineup after missing the regular-season finale at Tennessee because of an ankle injury.
15:13, 1H - Arkansas 10, LSU 4
It's been a solid start for Arkansas, which got a couple of 3s from unlikely sources - Au'Diese Toney and Trey Wade - and JD Notae has been good at attacking the basket. Defense had been great early on, limiting LSU to just 1 of 8 shooting.
11:14, 1H - Arkansas 14, LSU 11
The Tigers turned up their defensive pressure and forced the Razorbacks into several turnovers, helping them cut into the deficit. Toney is making his presence felt early, with 7 points and 3 rebounds already.
7:30, 1H - Arkansas 17, LSU 15
Neither team is shooting particularly well. LSU is shooting 26.7% from the floor, while Arkansas is shooting 23.5%. Fouls are a major story right now, as Notae just picked up his second for the Razorbacks and the Tigers have four players with two fouls - Murray, Pinson, Reid and Eason.
3:41, 1H - LSU 22, Arkansas 20
The Tigers took their first lead of the game with a free throw at the 6:48 mark. That was part of a 7-0 run by LSU. Arkansas went more than nine minutes between field goals before Toney made an and-one layup just before the media timeout.
HALF - Arkansas 29, LSU 26
LSU coach Will Wade received a technical foul with 22.7 seconds left in the half and Lykes made both free throws. He also made the free throw from the regular foul to give the Hogs a one-point lead. Then Lykes also got a steal on the other end and knocked down a jumper at the buzzer.
18:34, 2H - Arkansas 34, LSU 26
The Razorbacks have scored the first five points of the second half, including a 3 by Toney. That prompted a timeout by LSU. Toney has 15 points and 7 rebounds.
15:39, 2H - Arkansas 42, LSU 27
The Razorbacks ended up scoring the first 13 points of the second half, making it a 19-0 run that spanned the two halves. LSU's first point came on a free throw at the 16:08 mark.
11:09, 2H - Arkansas 49, LSU 35
After leading by as many as 17, LSU has cut it to 12 once and will have a chance to do so again with free throws when play resumes. Stanley Umude just picked up his fourth foul for the Razorbacks.
7:48, 2H - Arkansas 58, LSU 42
JD Notae has caught fire, going coast-to-coast for a fast break layup and then knocking down a 3. The latter of those plays forced LSU to call a timeout. The Tigers had pulled within 11 before the surge by Notae, who suddenly has a game-high 17 points.
3:20, 2H - Arkansas 69, LSU 55
LSU managed to get within single digits, but Lykes has stepped up for the Razorbacks and scored their last seven points -- including a big 3. He's up to 16 points.
FINAL - Arkansas 79, LSU 67
Au'Diese Toney notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while JD Notae scored 19 and Chris Lykes scored 18.
