Arkansas Razorbacks 78, LSU 70: Not Dead Yet

For a while there, it looked like the Razorbacks had thrown in the towel. They found themselves down in the first half to LSU, a team that hasn’t won since January 4th, by 14 points. There was a 9-minute stretch where they only made one field goal. These kind of starts have become a trademark for these Hogs.

But then Arkansas came out blazing in the second half. Down by 11, the Hogs went on a 29-7 run to take their own 11-point lead with 11:15 to play. Dusty Hannahs hit four threes and a layup in that span, while Daryl Macon, Anton Beard, and Manny Watkins also hit threes of their own. It was a barrage similar to the one that killed Arkansas against Vanderbilt earlier in the week.

And this one killed LSU. The Tigers got back to within six points a couple of times, but that was it. Arkansas ended up with its fourth SEC road win of the season.

LSU’s Antonio Blakeny led the game with 21 points, but Arkansas had six players with at least 8 points. Hannahs and Macon each had 17. Beard had 11. Dustin Thomas had his best conference game of the season, with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.

This was a game Arkansas pretty much had to win. Although it may not seem that way after the pretty awful week the team had last week, as we established yesterday, Arkansas still has a very real shot for the NCAA Tournament. This second half was an indication the team is still fighting, and they’ll need to keep that up because a very important trip to South Carolina looms on Wednesday.