By Hunt Palmer
At this point only one team in the SEC can play the revenge card on LSU.
Arkansas.
Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena, the Hogs get that chance. LSU beat Arkansas 78-74 in Baton Rouge on January 14. Since then, the Tigers have lost six straight, and the Razorbacks have found a little bit of an identity.
That night in the Assembly Center, LSU used a 20-3 scoring run to take control in the second half. The Tigers beat Arkansas 26-11 at the free throw line and forced the Hogs to shoot just 11-for-28 at the rim.
Cam Carter scored 27 points on just 15 shots thanks to 10 free throws. Boogie Fland led the Arkansas attack with 19 points on 17 shots.
Fland will miss the remainder of the season and hasn’t played in two weeks. Arkansas, meanwhile, has won three of its last five games including a convincing win at Rupp Arena in John Calipari’s Kentucky homecoming.
As of today, CBS’s Jerry Palm and the crew at Field of 68 both have Arkansas in their projected NCAA Tournament field despite the Hogs’ 3-7 league record. Joe Lunardi has Arkansas as the first team out. That’s the strength of the SEC.
A loss to LSU, meaning a sweep at the hands of the Tigers, would be a crippling blow to Arkansas’ resume.
LSU, on the other hand, is just trying to find some positivity after a brutal three game stretch. LSU was throttled by 31 by Texas last week and followed that up with a 19-point loss at Georgia. The Tigers controlled 37 minutes of action against Ole Miss and then coughed up a double-digit lead in the last three.
Arkansas has struggled in Bud Walton Arena this season, limping to a 1-4 league record at home.
IT’S ME, Z
Zvonimir Ivisic was a big-time recruit for Calipari at Kentucky, and the 7-foot-2 Croation followed Calipari to Arkansas.
Early on in league play, Ivisic struggled to find a role. He struggled on defense and was relegated to hoisting up threes much of the time on offense. Since Fland left the lineup, Ivisic has found a bit of a groove.
He scored 27 points on Alabama and was 5-for-9 from deep in the process.
Ivisic only played six minutes against LSU the first time around. He’s played over 20 in every game since. Daimion Collins was excellent against the Hogs in the first matchup. He’ll have to show more of that in this game against a taller player.
BLOCK PARTY
Arkansas enters the game No. 6 in the country in block percentage. Ivisic, Jonas Aidoo and Trevon Brazile are a lengthy frontcourt to try to maneuver. Aidoo blocked four LSU shots in Baton Rouge, but the Tigers kept coming. LSU eventually got to the rim successfully and drew a ton of fouls. That’s probably LSU’s best path on offense.
Meanwhile the Hogs are going to drive it, too. That’s Calipari’s offense. Adou Thiero is a physical driver who had four of his shots blocked by LSU in January.
The team that can affect shots at the rim without fouling will probably win the game.
RUN RESPONSE
At this point the mental wear of a 1-9 start is going to be tough for LSU to shake. And inevitably a run by the home team comes. Arkansas didn’t respond to LSU’s 20-3 run in the PMAC. Can LSU stop the bleeding on an Arkansas run in Bud Walton? Or do the Tigers wilt with little to play for other than pride?
Assuredly the Hogs will throw a proverbial punch in the game. But this is not one of the SEC’s elite that should just run away from LSU. It’s a team LSU has proven it can play with–if the Tigers respond to the run.
