Coming off arguably its biggest win in the still-young Johnny Jones era, the LSU men’s basketball team will have to avoid the letdown as Arkansas strolls into Baton Rouge in hopes of taking the Tigers down off their high.
The threat of a trip-up game looms as LSU’s gaze shifts from an emotional win against No. 11 Kentucky to an Arkansas team that holds a 2-5 record in conference play this season.
Jones and his squad have just three days to put Kentucky in their rearview mirror and focus on the Razorbacks, but Jones said the redirection won’t be an issue after preaching the philosophy of “next one up” all season.
“The most important game on our schedule is the next one, and certainly coming off an emotional game, they’re one of the top-ranked teams in the country,” Jones said. “But we understand the implications of our next game if, in fact, we don’t approach it the way we should.”
The mindset has evidently stuck with Jones’ players, as almost every Tiger has echoed their coach at some point in the season — particularly this week when the matter seemed to have most relevance.
The win against Kentucky made Shavon Coleman one of two seniors to take down the Wildcats since Marcus Thornton, and the senior class of 2008 did so twice in the same season.
“I just told them we can’t keep all of our focus on Kentucky,” Coleman said. “We have to move on to the next game. Arkansas is an important game for us.”
Arkansas could catch the Tigers off guard if they aren’t careful. Five of the Razorbacks’ seven losses have been within single digits, and they rank first in SEC scoring offenses with 82.3 points per game.
What seems to be the most concerning factor to LSU isn’t what Arkansas can do with the ball in its hands, but rather the aggressive press it plays on defense.
“We know they like to press a lot.” Coleman said. “We just have to break through and try to run our own tempo.”
The Arkansas defense will be gunning for LSU junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III. If there was anyone left in the conference not aware of what O’Bryant could do on the court, they learned quickly after what can only be described as a career night for the Mississippi native against Kentucky.
O’Bryant threw down 29 points and nine rebounds in an inspired performance, after Kentucky coach John Calipari didn’t send double teams O’Bryant’s way early in the game.
Single coverage isn’t a luxury O’Bryant expects to have again.
“After that, I don’t think anyone will try the one-on-one thing anymore,” O’Bryant chuckled.