LSU led the Razorbacks 56-48 with nine minutes to play, stealing the momentum after a huge Tari Eason dunk. With how well the defense had been playing throughout the game and the offense seeming to find its footing at the right time, it seemed like the Tigers were on their way to their fourth straight SEC victory.
So… How did they lose?
It’s simple. Their offense was completely shut down.
LSU went seven minutes without a made bucket. Alex Fudge finally ended the drought with a desperately needed dunk with just two minutes left in the game. In those seven minutes, the Razorbacks chipped away at the lead, eventually stealing it with a JD Notae three to go up by two.
Arkansas finished the game on a 17-2 run in the final nine minutes, officially taking control after a Mwani Wilkinson turnover and an Arkansas offensive rebound and put back on a missed free throw. Head coach Will Wade gave their SEC opponents a lot of credit, not seeing this run as simply a Tiger collapse.
“Arkansas made a ton of plays down the stretch,” Wade said. “Notae made some clutch shots [and they] closed the game on a 17-2 run. They did some things defensively that were very smart.
You have to give Arkansas some credit, they did a nice job. They were predicted to finish top-three or four in this league for a reason.”
The loss overshadowed the positives that occurred during the game on the individual side of things.
For one, Alex Fudge played his best game of the season, scoring his second-most points in a game with 13 and contributing 4 rebounds, a block and 2 steals as well.
“I just came into the game feeling ready,” Fudge said about his performance. “Offensively, I just let the game come to me. That’s what I do every game. It’s just in my nature.”
Two, Eric Gaines did a great job filling the injured Pinson’s shoes, finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. There may have been instances where the team could have used Pinson’s leadership, but Wade argued that Gaines still put the team in a position to win.
“I think Gaines played well enough for us to win,” Wade stated.“I thought Justice Williams did some good things today and that those guys played well enough for us to win. We need some other guys to step up and play better.”
Tari Eason also bounced back well after a frustrating game against Florida, contributing 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. He kept out of foul trouble as well, committing just two on the day.
Though the positives were there, the negatives came out a bit clearer. Free throw and field goal percentage, rebounding and turnovers were especially apparent in this loss, with the team shooting 65% from the line and 39% from the field (28% from three), losing the rebounding battle by double digits and turning the ball over 16 times (six times in the last nine minutes).
Wade mentioned specifically the free throws and turnovers being factors that kept them from winning this game and stated that they would look to have those problems corrected in preparation for another tough week. The Tigers will be away from home for their next two games, facing Alabama on Wednesday and Tennessee on Saturday.
