Tigers head to frigid Fayetteville to take on Razorbacks

By Hunt Palmer

John Calipari shook the college basketball landscape when he left Lexington for Fayetteville.

He took the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16 last year by beating Bill Self and Kansas then Rick Pitino and St. Johns before bowing out in an overtime thriller against Texas Tech. There’s significant investment and a lot of optimism that this is another team capable of a run in 2026.

LSU is in a hole. Florida drubbed the Tigers on Tuesday, and LSU is once again a sizeable underdog at Bud Walton Arena. How much will the Arkansas crowd play a factor? The weather will dictate some of that.

A manageable week awaits LSU after this trip north. But first thing’s first. Tigers-Razorbacks.

THOMAS TIME

DJ Thomas came back from injury on Tuesday to give LSU 17 minutes in Gainesville. He was not sharp, just 1-of-8 from the floor. But he was healthy after the game and felt good Wednesday after returning home.

For the Tigers to stay in things with this high-flying Arkansas attack, Thomas is going to have to play and play well. The Hogs are 11th in the country in offensive efficiency, 10th in points per game and a top 20 team in three point percentage.

They score. The winner of every Arkansas SEC game thus far has topped 85 points.

LSU is going to have to score, too. Thomas is far and away LSU’s best offensive creator. With him on the floor, Mike Nwoko scored in double figures in 12 of the first 13 games. With Thomas out, Nwoko was held below 10 points in four of the five games. Thomas came back, albeit in a limited capacity and Nwoko scored 17 at Florida.

LSU will need 10-to-15 points and a handful of assists from their point guard whether he starts or comes off the bench. This Arkansas team is only 130th in defensive efficiency, so points are there to be had.

DEFENDING DARIUS

Surprise, surprise, Calipari has a freshman phenom.

No one outside of Durham, N.C. has coached more over the last 20 years. Darius Acuff Jr. is a star for Arkansas. He’s a 6-foot-3 point guard who can do it all.

In SEC games, Acuff is averaging 21.5 points and 6.3 assists while going 29/31 from the free throw line. He’s a phenomenal ball handler who never seems to be sped up by the moment. Thomas, Jalen Reece and Rashad King will likely draw this assignment.

No one has really slowed Acuff down. He’s scored double figures in every game and dished out 13 assists against South Carolina. The Hogs have plenty of offensive weapons, but none is as important as Acuff.

MISERABLE MATCHUP

Ultimately, this matchup is awful for LSU.

The Tiger defense does not defend the bounce very well. Arkansas spaces the floor and drives teams to death. LSU does not force teams into turnovers. The Tigers rank 292nd in turnovers forced which means teams get a lot of shots off. Arkansas is a top 25 shooting team in the country.

LSU is 25th, so the only path is to try to win 95-92 in someone else’s gym. That’s tough to do. Arkansas is 11-0 at home with wins over Louisville, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Georgia and Auburn took it to these Hogs by scoring in the 90s. Both were at home when they did it, though.

It would be a sizable upset for the Tigers to win the game, but they’re going to have to spring one of those to crawl back to relevance this year.

Tipoff is set for 4:00 on SEC Network, moved from 7:30 due to weather.