Arkansas too much for LSU, 94-83

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Razorbacks shot over 60 percent from the field and pounded the ball inside in the second half to repel LSU in a 94-83 win Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

LSU is now 16-14 and 8-9 in the league going into the season finale on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against the University of Missouri. Pregame ceremonies honoring those players in their last regular season game will begin at 7:10 p.m.

Arkansas made 31-of-51 field goal attempts for the game (60.8 percent) including 26-of-35 from inside the lane. The Razorbacks were consistent, shooting 60.9 percent (14-of-23) in the first half and 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) in the second half. The Razorbacks made just 5-of-16 treys (31.3 percent) but continued their strong free throw shooting, making 27-of-33 (81.8%).

LSU finished the game at 44.8 percent (30-of-67) with 5-of-18 from distance. The Tigers shot 18-of-26 at the line 69.2 percent.

Highlighting the Tigers’ play was Jordan Wright who scored 24 points, including his fourth 10 free throw game when he went 10-of-10 at the line. Tyrell Ward added 19 points, while Derek Fountain and Trae Hannibal had 10 points each.

The Razorbacks were led by Khalif Battle with 29 points, including 13-of-14 at the line. Makhi Mitchell added 19 points while El Ellis scored 16.

The Tigers battled hard throughout the game after falling behind early and trailed by just seven, 42-35, at the intermission.

The Razorbacks pushed the game to a 12-point lead 90 seconds into the second half, but LSU began to chip away on it and cut it to four, 53-49, on a Ward three-pointer with 14:19 to play. But Arkansas made a three-pointer on the other end to push it to seven.

LSU got it down to four again on a Trey Hannibal field goal with 11:34 to play but the Razorbacks scored the next seven points to push the margin out to 11. The Tigers would again push the game to five points with 7:38 and 6:55 left but the Razorbacks had an answer from there every time.

LSU had 48 points in the paint, to 46 for Arkansas and LSU had a 17-8 advantage in second-chance points. Arkansas outrebounded LSU, 34-30, but LSU had a 12-8 advantage on the offensive boards. LSU had nine turnovers in the first half but only turned the ball over one time to finish with 10 turnovers.

Trae Hannibal had a double-double with 10 rebounds to go with his 10 points.

Postgame Quotes via LSU Radio:

LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon

On LSU missing shots…

“They (Arkansas) have very good rim protection. They are a top-10 shot-blocking team in the country. I still liked the selection, I feel like we were at the front of the rim early and often, even had some breakaways that we didn’t convert that they chased down and blocked. Unfortunately, we were unable to do a better job finishing those plays with toughness and physicality around the basket. As you said, credit to Arkansas, they have good rim protection as well.”

On the difference in the transition game…

“Every time we got it down to four there, they had a great response. El Ellis hit a big step back three to push it back to seven. But yeah, overall, just from an offensive standpoint, when we didn’t finish those plays at the rim, and when you miss baskets at the rim, your defense is very vulnerable in transition. You talk about the difference there, 26-16, our floor balance wasn’t good enough, especially there in the second half when they got some runouts and got some big baskets there.”