After Will Baker scored a stunning 29 points in LSU’s season opener, it would’ve been hard to believe he’d reach the 20-point plateau or make multiple 3-pointers just once more in his next 19 games.
For all his skill, Baker’s scoring exploits have mostly been reduced to irregular spurts at this point in the season. He’s been passive and easy to negate for opposing defenses, particularly since the turn of December.
In LSU’s matinee matchup with Arkansas on Saturday, the old Baker showed up to the tune of 25 points. On the back of his scoring performance, LSU downed the Razorbacks by a score of 95-74.
Baker was aggressive from the jump. After he hit two early 3-pointers, there wasn’t a shot he didn’t like.
They kept going down for him, whether it was a post fadeaway, hook shot, one of his four 3-pointers or a free throw opportunity.
“I got into a rhythm early,” Baker said, also crediting his teammates for finding him when he was open. “I think that definitely helped me get going.”
With Baker in a flow, the LSU offense looked more fluid and multi-faceted—the way it was intended when the team was put together.
LSU moved the ball around and didn’t end possessions early with isolation shots. The threat of Baker simplified the game for his teammates and gave other players easy looks.
All told, even with a couple of droughts, the scoring output was LSU’s third highest of the season, with the other two coming against bottom-60 teams in the country, according to KenPom.
One of the more interesting developments of the day came pre-game, when LSU announced that star guard Jalen Cook would be replaced in the starting lineup by Trae Hannibal.
Head coach Matt McMahon said there wasn’t much to read into about the lineup change after the game, but he did say both players were effective in their roles.
“Sometimes a change, whether that’s coming off the bench to where you get to see what’s happening on the floor, helps you refocus and lock in on doing the things you need to do to help your team,” McMahon said. “I thought both guys handled it exceptionally well.”
Cook had struggled in recent games with an 11 to 24 assist-to-turnover ratio in SEC play, and the lineup change proved to be fruitful for both parties.
Coming off the bench, Cook played under control and simplified his game. The Tigers ran him in more pick-and-roll situations, which is where he’s been most successful this season, and it produced 20 points on great efficiency, as well as three assists.
“I just wanted to come in, you know, create a spark,” Cook said.
Hannibal provided great energy on both ends, spurring fast breaks with defense and directing the offense. He finished with six points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Also contributing to the offensive success was freshman guard Mike Williams III, who continues to make remarkable improvements from 3-point range. Williams had 13 points and four 3-pointers, and he didn’t hesitate at all when lifting to shoot, even with defenders in his face.
“When he’s making them, we all tell him to keep shooting it,” Cook said. “So that’s what we need him to do.”
Jordan Wright, LSU’s leading scorer on the season, was relatively quiet in the points department with 13. However, he still found a way to affect the game with his savvy veteran presence, with a team-leading six assists to go along with six rebounds.
In the first half, LSU’s defense was stifling. The Tigers were focused and seemed to be aware of their assignment and quick with help defense, especially Jalen Reed.
Reed has grown greatly in his effort, physicality and timing as a defender in recent games, and he came up with three blocks, as well as seven rebounds.
“We got beat on a couple actions that Arkansas ran, and he came all the way from the weak side to block those shots,” McMahon said. “Because of how he works and because he’s all about the team, he’ll just keep getting better and better.”
LSU’s defensive performance waned to an extent in the second half, where Arkansas shot 48.1% from the field, got to the free throw line 24 times and came up with six offensive rebounds.
Ultimately, though, it wasn’t enough to make LSU sweat. The Tigers led for almost 38 minutes of the 40-minute game.
Matchup-wise, Arkansas didn’t appear to be a team that pointedly challenges LSU’s weaknesses. On the season, Arkansas hasn’t been a particularly effective rebounding team, it’s been one of the least prolific 3-point shooting teams in the nation, and it ranks No. 13 in the SEC in turnover margin.
However, as head coach Matt McMahon urged before the game, it’s important to judge Arkansas by its recent body of work. In their last two games, the Razorbacks nearly upset top-10 Kentucky and routed Missouri.
They won the rebounding battle in both those games and limited their turnovers. Arkansas’ defense was stout against Kentucky, keeping it to 63. This was just the Wildcats’ second time being held under 70.
Against Missouri, the Razorbacks’ offense hummed all the way to 91 points on 54.1% shooting while getting to the free throw line 25 times.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman’s teams always play best when it matters, as he’s led them to at least the sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons.
However, LSU halted Arkansas’ momentum from the jump, which was important for a team on a three-game losing streak, with two losses against Texas A&M and Georgia that came down to the final seconds.
In doing so, the Tigers showed a glimpse of the team they could be. With both Cook and Baker getting back in rhythm, the offense played its optimal style.
If that keeps up going forward, LSU can be dangerous, and it’ll need to be, with a challenging five-game stretch upcoming.
LSU will first travel to No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday before facing Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky.
The Tigers have had times where it’s looked like they can challenge any team in the SEC, but this stretch will be an opportunity to see if that materializes.
