After three straight lackluster wins over mid-major opponents heading into conference play, the feeling surrounding LSU’s first SEC matchup with top-10 Arkansas from Tiger fans was one of unease. But the team shut that feeling down early, holding the lead for nearly 19 minutes in a back-and-forth victory over the Razorbacks. 

Even as its shots started to fall, Arkansas never led by more than six points in the game, as LSU always seemed to have an answer in this one. Through a 25-point output from the bench, second-half proficiency in the paint and a lack of forced turnovers and points off turnovers from its opposer, the Tigers got the job done and silenced doubters. Head Coach Matt McMahon is still taking each game one at a time, as they have only just reached the beginning of their SEC gauntlet.  

“The goal is to go 1-0 and for us, we’re such a work in progress that we’re just trying to get better every day in practice and in games,” McMahon stated. “Obviously, the goal is to win while doing it so I hope it’s something we can continue to build on.” 

Still, it’s a huge win for a program that wasn’t expected to pull off one of that magnitude so early.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the victory: 

Trae Hannibal 

Whether you watched the game or simply checked the stats afterwards, you likely understand the level of impact the former Murray State guard had on this game. Hannibal scored nearly a third of LSU’s points, accounting for 19 points of the team’s 25 bench points on nine of 14 attempts from the field, and added six rebounds to his impressive stat line.

It was one point off the guard’s career high, but considering it came in just 22 minutes of play time, along with his efficiency and the team’s opponent, it’s arguably the most impressive performance of his career. Not only that, his points tended to come in the most vital of situations against the Razorbacks. 

After sitting out the first five minutes of the second half, Hannibal came back in with the Tigers reeling a bit, finding themselves on the opposite end of a 13-5 run to kick off the period. The guard would tie the game on his second possession back before cutting the Arkansas lead to two a few possessions later. 

With just over seven minutes to go, Hannibal committed a bad turnover but followed it up by knocking the ball out of Arkansas guard Jordan Walsh’s hands, which LSU forward Derek Fountain stole and immediately capitalized on with a layup. That play earned the Tigers their first lead in over 10 minutes of game time, capping off an 8-0 run in the process.  

And lastly, back-to-back field goals in the paint nearing the conclusion of the game put them up by three with just over 30 seconds left, a lead they would never relinquish. Most of Hannibal’s output came at the rim, as he was able to consistently blow past Razorback defenders on his way to the paint. He credits his success there to his aggressive mindset. 

“My main thing is just never [letting] anyone stop me from getting where I want to go, staying consistent with that and working on my three ball,” Hannibal said. “Everything else outside of that, staying consistent with work and it’ll pay off.” 

To make matters worse, Arkansas came into the period a different team and quickly dissipated the Tiger lead. They had fought hard on the defensive end to keep their opponents’ scoring limited early but needed a spark offensively if they wanted to remain in the game.  

And that’s exactly what happened. When the game started to get out of hand, the Tigers responded by locking in and converting on the easier opportunities they had struggled with in the previous period, finishing the half with a much best two-point shooting percentage at 64-percent. Hannibal credited the team’s success there on better focus and being locked in.  

“At the end of the day, being able to fix that and adjust, come out in the second half and go on the run that we did and get stops, it was key,” Hannibal said.  

Hannibal and Fountain combined to shoot 10-12 in the second half, which all came from two-point range. And with a lot of those shots coming down the stretch, their efficiency there was vital in the team picking up the win. 

Limiting Turnovers 

One of the biggest questions heading into the game was how LSU was going to deal with Arkansas’s gritty defense. Not only had the Tigers been inconsistent when it came to taking care of the ball, but the Razorbacks were also one of the best teams in the country at not only forcing turnovers, but scoring off them, averaging about 25 points off just under 19 forced turnovers per game according to McMahon. 

But LSU did an excellent job of taking care of the ball, especially in the first half where it coughed it up just three times. There were a few crucial turnovers in the second half that could’ve caused problems, but even when the Tigers did turn the ball over, it rarely resulted in points for their opponents.  

LSU finished with just 10 turnovers, below its previous average of 12.9, and allowed just four points off them throughout the entire night. McMahon mentioned this as one of the vital factors in the team picking up the win.  

“I was really concerned coming in because Arkansas is probably the best team in America in forcing turnovers and then converting those turnovers into points in transition,” McMahon said. “I believe they were averaging around 25 points off turnovers coming in, so I thought that was really key.” 

After a three-game stretch that saw it escape upset losses against North Carolina Central, Winthrop and East Tennessee State, LSU bounced back in a big way and proved they are more than capable of competing in the SEC. Its next opponent is another challenging one, as the Tigers face off against a Kentucky team looking to avenge its opening SEC loss to Missouri.