NEW ORLEANS — With a three-game losing streak in tow and a sloppy first half behind it, the LSU men’s basketball team was staring down another postseason at home.
Then Johnny O’Bryant III took over.
The freshman forward posted 12 second-half points, dominating a helpless Hogs frontline to propel the eighth-seeded Tigers (18-13) past No. 9-seed Arkansas, 70-54, in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday in New Orleans.
“Playing inside-out is what our offense is based on,” said freshman point guard Anthony Hickey. “Johnny was relentless down low all day. They couldn’t stop him.”
O’Bryant dropped 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to notch his second career double-double and help power LSU to its first SEC Tournament triumph since 2009.
The freshman’s effort led a Tiger takeover in the paint, as LSU out rebounded Arkansas, 41-28, and compiled 19 second-chance points.
“Things start with your energy, and my coaches told me that I needed to hit the glass hard,” O’Bryant said. “I found some good looks because I got offensive boards.”
O’Bryant made it look easy in the second half, but it was far from a cakewalk for LSU early.
Playing in the noon matinee time slot, the Tigers came out firing. Unfortunately for LSU, it was mostly to Arkansas defenders, as the Tigers turned over the ball 10 times in as many minutes to open the game.
But the Razorbacks could only muster a three-point lead off the careless passing, as a stingy LSU defense and the Hogs’ cold shooting kept the Tigers within striking distance.
“[Arkansas] came out ready to play, and we were sloppy,” said sophomore guard Ralston Turner. “We had to clean things up.”
LSU scored the final three points of the half and then exploded out of the locker room with seven straight.
The teams traded buckets before Arkansas put together a mini-run that cut LSU’s advantage to 44-39 at the 11:40 mark.
But O’Bryant drained two of his game-high 10 free throws and converted two picturesque lay-ins, and Turner added a crucial 3-pointer to stake LSU to an insurmountable 55-41 lead by the 7:05 mark.
“Basketball’s a game of runs,” Turner said. “We were determined not to let them back in that game.”
Turner’s 10 points made him one of five LSU players who finished in double figures. Sophomore guard Andre Stringer finished with 11 points, senior forward Storm Warren contributed 14 and junior center Justin Hamilton was an efficient 5-of-6 shooting for 10 points.
LSU shot 50 percent for the game from the field and beyond the 3-point line, including a 15-for-27 second-half shooting effort.
“The ball just went down for us,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “The players executed to get the right shots for us, and we shot it with confidence.”
As LSU found an offensive rhythm, the Tigers stifled an array of Arkansas offensive looks. The Razorbacks rarely threatened LSU’s disciplined defense, which tallied six blocks, forced 12 Razorback turnovers and limited Arkansas to 36 percent shooting.
“They got physical and took the fight to us,” said Arkansas senior forward Michael Sanchez. “We couldn’t respond. Give LSU credit, because they played fearless defense.”
The Razorbacks’ backcourt duo of BJ Young and Julysses Nobles spurred their sputtering offense, combining for 22 points but shooting just 1-of-8 behind the 3-point arc.
For LSU, the reward for its first win in more than two weeks is a rematch against the top-ranked Kentucky juggernaut today.
The Wildcats (30-1) are the tournament’s top seed, coming off an undefeated and largely untested SEC regular season.
“It should be a great atmosphere [Friday],” Hamilton said. “It’s a lot of fun to play the best.”
Except it wasn’t much fun for LSU the first time around.
After LSU played the Wildcats to a virtual draw through 16 minutes on Jan. 28, Kentucky manhandled the Tigers the rest of the way, cruising to a 74-50 victory in the PMAC.
“I’m optimistic,” Turner said. “We play to win, and we’re confident. There’s things to learn from the first time we played them.”
Although LSU will need to go through Big Blue for any hopes at an NCAA Tournament automatic bid, the first-round win against the Razorbacks could be enough to earn the Tigers a National Invitation Tournament bid.
“We’re not ready to be done yet,” Warren said. “The only way to guarantee that we keep playing is to beat the best.”
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]