Razorbacks Run Away From Tigers in Big 2nd Half

Arkansas 83 LSU 75

What a tale of 2 halves today.

The first half LSU controlled the boards, controlled the pace, and had Arkansas’ offense all out of whack.

Cam Thomas was masterful in the first 25 minutes of this game. Arkansas did a decent job staying with him, but his ability to rise and hit tough shots is impressive. He had 13 points at half time as the Hogs trailed by 5. Justin Smith had 7 points and 6 rebounds in the first half.

In the 2^nd half, the whole mood of the game changed. Arkansas was able to draw fouls at a high rate early and the pace really picked up in Arkansas’ favor. The defense was absolutely lock down! Justin Smith did an outstanding job on Trendon Watford. He was 6-15 on the day and had his shot blocked 4 times.

Devo Davis continues to be special for Arkansas. The freshman phenom had 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Justin Smith had a double-double and was very efficient. He recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 12 shooting.

Moses Moody and JD Notae drew 14 fouls combined and attempted 23 free throws. The duo made 17 of them. Jaylin Williams added 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks off the bench.

I mentioned in my preview article that stopping Darius Days was key. Poor performances from Days was a consistency in LSU losses. Days was held to 0 points today.

This team just doesn’t quit. They don’t get down on themselves. They fight and fight. They hustle more than the other team every single game. That really battle on the boards.

The SEC winning streak is now up to 9 games. That is the longest conference winning streak since the title season of 1993-94. The streak in 93-94 was a 12-game SEC winning streak.

The Hogs head back out on the road on Tuesday to take on South Carolina on Tuesday at 5:30pm. USCe is the only SEC team that Eric Musselman has not defeated yet. He’ll get his chance next week.

I expect Arkansas to make a huge jump in the polls this week. Two Q1 wins this week plus there were several teams in front of them that lost this week. There’s even a chance the Hogs could crack the Top 10. We’ll have to wait until around noon on Monday to find out.

Thanks for reading! For all things Arkansas basketball, give me a follow on Twitter @BenBrandonHoops