Against an Arkansas team that thrives on pressure, LSU coach Johnny Jones knew the key to success was in the zone.
If his team’s newfound 2-3 zone could force tough shots, clean the glass of misses and take off in transition, it would make life difficult for the press-happy Razorbacks to set up their trademark full-court defense.
There was no press to be seen in the first half as LSU sped to a 17-point lead in the first ten minutes and held off a strong second half showing from the Razorbacks to take an 88-74 victory on Saturday in the PMAC.
Junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III led all scorers with 23 points while freshman forward Jordan Mickey chipped in 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked six shots.
It was the fifth straight game in double figures for both forwards and Mickey’s first double-double since his 14-point, 13-rebound performance in a win against Missouri on Jan. 21.
“I expected a little more press than they did today,” Mickey said. “They dropped back a lot today, I guess it was something we were doing.”
That “something” was an 8-for-9 start from the field for the Tigers (14-6, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) as it raced out to a 19-6 lead by the 13:32 mark — almost identical to the Tigers’ 22-6 run to open Tuesday’s win against Kentucky.
The Tiger lead swelled to as much as 20 in the first half as the rangy LSU zone forced Arkansas (13-8, 2-6 SEC) into a 25.8 percent shooting clip for the first 20 minutes.
“I thought we were able to take away driving lanes and at the same time get a hand up and force them to shoot over the top of our length,” Jones said. “I thought the zone helped us tonight.”
Facing a 40-25 deficit to start the second half, Arkansas showed better ball movement to open the second half, putting a bigger emphasis on getting the ball into the middle of the Tiger zone.
It paid dividends early as a dunk from Bobby Portis cut the Tiger lead to ten just over five minutes into the half. A Kikko Haydar 3-pointer just two minutes later had the lead whittled to eight.
But, as it did all afternoon, LSU countered the run. Senior guard Andre Stringer found sophomore guard Malik Morgan on the wing for an open 3-pointer, then connected on one of his own on the ensuing possession, pulling up in transition to swell the lead back to 16.
“We had to buckle down,” Mickey said. “Play better defense up top, not let guys in the lane and keep guys in front of us.”
Stringer finished the afternoon with ten points and freshman Jarell Martin added 15.
Martin, making his second consecutive start, grabbed five rebounds and dished two assists while relishing the quick pace the Tigers embodied to beat the Arkansas press.
“I love playing in a fast pace,” Martin said. “We shared the ball well, got the ball up the floor. We still have to do a better job of communicating and keeping teams out of it.”
The Razorbacks made one final push after the Tiger lead reached 20, reeling off an 18-4 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Mardracus Wade to cut the LSU lead to 74-68.
After Martin knocked home a trey, Mickey found O’Bryant for a dunk and Stringer returned the favor, dishing to Mickey for a one-handed slam to get the lead back to 13.
Free throws dominated the remainder of the contest as LSU knocked down seven of its last eight attempts to wrap up the victory.
After a season-changing victory against Kentucky on Tuesday left the team full of momentum and a fanbase turning its head, Jones said coming out with the same intensity against the Hogs signaled maturation.
O’Bryant echoed his coach.
“A lot of people had their doubts about us,” O’Bryant said. “But we always believed and coach always believed come March we’d be a better team.”
“Our freshman are growing up, I got my mojo back, [junior guard Anthony] Hickey’s playing great,” he added. “It’s all coming together.”