Tigers Face Tough Test at No. 20 Arkansas
BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers face a stiff test Saturday afternoon when they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on No. 20 Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won eight straight Southeastern Conference games including an 81-66 win over No. 6 Alabama on Wednesday night.
The game is set to tip just after 1 p.m. with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes on the call on ESPN2. The Voice of the Tigers, Chris Blair, and former coach John Brady will have the call on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (Guaranty Media BR flagship Eagle98.1 FM).
LSU and Arkansas are looking to secure the double byes to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals by finishing in the top four in the league. Arkansas is 10-4, 2.5 games behind league leader Alabama, in second play in the league. The Razorbacks are 18-5 overall. LSU is 14-7 overall and one game behind Arkansas in third at 9-5.
Since back-to-back losses to LSU and Alabama on the road, Arkansas has scored league wins over Auburn, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida and Alabama. Moses Moody leads the team at 16.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds a contest, while JD Notae averages 12.5 points, Justin Smith 11.7 and Jalen Tate 11.2.
LSU won the first meeting with the two teams on Jan. 13, 92-76. LSU dominated early, gaining a 21-point lead in the first half of play thanks to 17-0 and 8-0 runs. LSU had all five starters in double figures and shot 53.1 percent from the floor.
Darius Days and Trendon Watford each recorded each recorded a double double in the game. Days finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Watford had a game high 23 points and 10 boards.
Notae led Arkansas with 22 points while Moody added 18. Jaylen Williams had 10 rebounds.
LSU will be trying to rebound from a lackluster 91-78 loss at Georgia on Tuesday night. Cameron Thomas led the Tigers with 21 points, his seventh straight game of 20 points or more while Javonte Smart had 19 points. Watford had his second straight double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
After Saturday’s contest, LSU will play two more games to complete what will be a 17-game regular season. The Tigers will host Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday to conclude the home schedule and on Saturday, March 6, will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the University of Missouri in a game that was postponed back in January.
LSU will end up playing 7-of-its-last-10 Southeastern Conference games on the road, including a stretch of four straight and then three-of-its-last-four games.