By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY: The losing streak is now seven.
A late Vyctorius Miller three ball gave LSU a halftime lead in Fayetteville, but the Razorbacks clamped down on LSU’s offense after intermission and outscored the Tigers 36-23 to coast to a 70-58 win at Bud Walton Arena.
Robert Miller was a clear bright spot, setting his season high with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He showed an array of post moves and deft touch around the rim against an Arkansas frontcourt that ranked sixth in the country in block percentage entering the game.
Outside of Miller, LSU’s offensive was putrid. The rest of the roster shot 17-for-51, just 33 percent. Boiled down to the second half, it was worse. Miller was 5-for-8, and the rest of the team was 5-for-20.
The tipping point of the game was when LSU made 8-of-9 field goals from the 1:35 mark of the first half to the 14:52 mark of the second half. That stretch, as good as it was offensively, shockingly led to a one-point lead turning into a two-point deficit because Arkansas made 9-of-10 shots from the 18:36 mark of the second half to the 12:30 mark.
Trailing by just two with 14:15 to play in the game, LSU went four minutes without a point. Arkansas stretched the lead to eight at that point and never really looked back. A couple of baskets did cut that lead to six, but it never got closer.
For the second consecutive game, LSU did a better job of taking care of the ball. But the Tigers couldn’t convert the possessions into field goals.
Jordan Sears, Dji Bailey and Cam Carter combined to shoot 6-for-23 from the floor. That’s 26 percent.
LSU now sits at 1-10 in SEC play having not won in over a month. This softer portion of the SEC schedule has produced an 0-4 start with two games left. There are just too many deficiencies to overcome night in and night out.
Even when a bright spot like Miller emerges in a given game, there’s negative to outweigh it. The same can be said for 37 good minutes on Saturday overshadowed by three horrible ones.
Next up is a trip to Norman for the first ever conference matchup with Oklahoma.
THE STATS: Zvonimi Ivisic torched the Tigers for 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting including 3-for-5 from deep.
LSU shot 5-for-20 from three.
After shooting 28 free throws and making 26 of them in the first matchup with Arkansas, LSU mustered just six free throw attempts Wednesday and missed half of them.
LSU only turned the ball over nine times resulting in seven Arkansas points.
LSU won second chance points 16-6.
Sears and Bailey combined for four points.
Arkansas shot 52 percent to LSU’s 39 percent.
