On a rare weekend school day, LSU used a potent three point shooting effort to knock off the Arkansas Razorbacks 94-86.
An area that has plagued LSU in conference play has been rebounding on both the offensive and defensive side. The Tigers allowed 12 offensive rebounds, and 12 points off those second chance opportunities.
Coach Will Wade said when you shoot the ball the way the Tigers did tonight, a team has to do a lot to lose that game.
“We were saving up our makes for that game,” Wade said. “It’s tough to say it was a must-win in early February, but it’s as close to a must-win as you can get. We can’t rely on that all the time so we have to be a lot more consistent on offense.”
The Tigers’ offense tried early to get the ball to senior big man Duop Reath, but every entry pass to the paint created a double team that took awhile to adjust to. Reath was taken out of the game, scoring five points in 19 minutes of play.
Junior guard Brandon Sampson made a significant impact off the bench, hitting a three and taking a charge on the very next defensive possession. LSU has been searching for an impact player off the bench for most of the season, but will need more consistent play from Sampson to be successful.
“I’m just trying to be more aggressive,” Sampson said. “I think it played in my favor tonight.”
“I knew Sampson was going to play well,” Wade said. “You can tell when you get through to somebody. It didn’t hurt that his first shot went in but it was a gut feeling.”
Freshman guard Tremont Waters broke out of his recent scoring slump with his fourth double double of his career, posting 27 points and 11 assists. The 11 assists were also the most assists Waters has recorded in a game, reaching 10 assists the previous three times.
“It feels good,” Waters said. “It’s basketball so it’s going to be ups and downs. I’d rather not say it’s a freshman wall because I don’t like to compare myself to everybody else.”
A five minute stretch in the first half where the Razorbacks didn’t register a single point allowed LSU to pull away using a tool that had failed them up to this point: the three pointer.
LSU had shot dreadfully from long distance in conference play with five perimeter players shooting under 30 percent in conference play. That was not the case Saturday afternoon as the Tigers hit 15 threes on 50 percent shooting from a variety of players.
Waters led the charge from deep, connecting on four triples while JUCO transfer Daryl Edwards and sophomore guard Skylar Mays added three a piece.  
A tough drive from Edwards with 48 seconds left in the first half led to a three point play and a 43-35 lead at the break.
The Tigers stuck to what was working in the first half, hitting on four three pointers in the opening four minutes of the half.
A 9-of-12 start by the Razorbacks to the second half left the Tigers ahead by six points and in need of some stops. A steal and dunk from Waters to Mays with 7:50 to go was just what the doctor ordered as it breathed some life in the crowd while increasing the lead to nine.
LSU will travel to Gainesville on Wednesday for a matchup with the No. 23 Florida with tip off set for 5:30 p.m.