Arkansas basketball stays hot on offense, knocks off LSU on senior night
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas basketball season may be defined by a string of disappointing performances inside Bud Walton Arena, but the Hogs closed out their home slate on a high note Wednesday.
The Razorbacks (15-15, 6-11 SEC) celebrated senior night with a 94-83 victory over LSU (16-14, 8-9). Arkansas only trailed for 28 seconds, using spurts midway through the first half and in between the final two media timeouts to pull away for the win.
Despite the victory, Arkansas lost any hope of a first-round bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament after Texas A&M knocked off Mississippi State later in the evening. The Razorbacks will need to win five games in five days to clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Here are four observations from the Arkansas victory.
Unselfish plays keys Arkansas basketball's offense
Arkansas shot 60.8% from the field and received contributions from all eight Hogs who played against LSU. Khalif Battle led the way with 29, while Makhi Mitchell scored 19 and El Ellis chipped in 16. When Ellis has been good this season, the Hogs have typically played well as a team.
The offensive prowess was a byproduct of good ball movement. Arkansas finished with 18 assists on 31 made baskets, which represents just the sixth time this season the Hogs have assisted on at least half of their converted field goals. The Razorbacks are now 4-2 in those games.
And when they needed, the Razorbacks also executed in isolation situations. Battle got to the free-throw line 14 times and made 13 attempts. Tramon Mark, Arkansas' leading scorer this season, had five assists to go with nine points and eight rebounds.
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Hogs clamp down on Will Baker
LSU’s 7-foot center made four threes and poured in a game-high 25 points in the Tigers’ victory over Arkansas earlier this season, but he couldn’t come close to replicating that success Wednesday.
Baker was held scoreless in the first half and finished with three points. He didn't make a single 3-pointer and wasn’t a factor on either end. It was clearly a focal point from coach Eric Musselman to limit LSU’s big man.
Khalif Battle continues late-season dominance
The Arkansas guard fell one point shy of becoming the first Razorback to score at least 30 points in four straight games, but he did set an SEC milestone against the Tigers.
Battle's 29 points give him 141 over the past four games. According to SEC Network, that’s the most points scored in a four-game stretch by an SEC player in the last 20 seasons of league play, passing the 134 that Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks scored during the 2008 campaign.
Battle has been terrific to close the year, showing why he was thought of as an elite scorer when he transferred to Arkansas from Temple. Behind Battle, the Hogs have now scored at least 80 points in four straight games after only eclipsing that mark once in their first 13 SEC contests.
Defense remains leaky heading into final stretch
Despite the offensive surge, Musselman still has problems to solve defensively before next week's SEC Tournament.
Opposing teams are scoring an average of 84 points over the last nine games. LSU guard Jalen Wright got to the free-throw line at will, and forward Tyrell Ward punished the Hogs off the dribble.
The defensive task only gets more difficult with Saturday's road trip to Alabama, which leads the nation in scoring.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball offense stays hot in senior night win over LSU
