LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson has subtle ways of keeping his team motivated.The newly ranked Tigers, the Southeastern Conference’s lone ranked team, travel tonight to face a team with only one conference victory. But No. 23 LSU isn’t looking past its opponent, and Johnson has offered constant reminders about Arkansas’ potential.”If Pittsburgh beats [Connecticut], Oklahoma will probably be ranked No. 1,” Johnson said Monday afternoon before the No. 2 Panthers’ 76-68 win against the top-ranked Huskies. “They only have one loss. Guess who beat them? Arkansas did, in Fayetteville.”The Razorbacks (13-10, 1-9) defeated the Sooners, 98-88, on Dec. 30. And one week later, Arkansas beat then-No. 7 Texas at home, 67-61. The Tigers (21-4, 9-1) head to Fayetteville hoping to avoid the same fate those ranked teams suffered.”In our last game with them, we didn’t challenge them much in the first half,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said at his Monday press conference. “We competed better in the second half. We need more of that second half.”The Tigers held a 20-point halftime lead on their way to a 79-69 win Jan. 31 in Baton Rouge.But both teams may be without players who played key roles in the teams’ first meeting.LSU sophomore point guard Bo Spencer has been sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered in the Tigers’ double-overtime victory against Mississippi State.Spencer hasn’t practiced since last Wednesday.”It’d be different if it was some of the other guys,” Johnson said. “Bo has a high pain threshold, and he is tough kid, so it’s not good.”Arkansas freshman guard Courtney Fortson, who scored 17 points and had 9 assists against LSU, missed his Razorbacks’ game against Kentucky on Saturday but practiced on Monday.”If he does the correct things, he will play on Wednesday,” Pelphrey said. “I love Courtney Fortson. There’s not another guard in the country I want playing our point guard spot. I anticipate having him back in the starting lineup. If he is in the lineup, it means the guy who is first or second on our team in every category will be back.”LSU senior guard Garrett Temple played the point guard position in Spencer’s absence Saturday. He scored 6 points and dished out 9 assists in a 73-66 LSU win against Ole Miss.”You can also trust Garrett at all times because he gives it his all in everything he does,” said LSU senior center Chris Johnson. “Defensively and offensively, he’s a leader out there. I have a high comfort zone with Garrett.”Trent Johnson said Spencer’s presence helps spread the defense because his shooting ability creates lanes for Chris Johnson and LSU junior forward Tasmin Mitchell.”Now, when you take Bo out of the equation, with [the shooting percentages] of Garrett shooting the ball and Terry Martin shooting the ball [at] what they are, so teams are a little more reluctant to run at them and more reluctant to sag off on Tasmin or Marcus [Thornton].”Spencer matched a career-high of 21 points and was 5-of-6 from 3-point range in the team’s first meeting.”Bo Spencer is one of those guys who needs to be in the mix for most improved player [in the SEC],” Pelphrey said.  “He was terrific [in the first meeting].”—-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]