A Road Statement in Baton Rouge, Arkansas Makes It Look Easy

No. 21 Arkansas carried its momentum into Baton Rouge and never let go of it. On Tuesday night, the Razorbacks delivered their second straight road win in emphatic fashion, rolling past LSU 91–62 in a game that was effectively settled long before the final minutes. Arkansas (18–6, 8–3 SEC) struck early, controlled the tempo throughout, and led wire to wire in a performance that felt less like a battle and more like a statement.

The familiar faces led the way. The Arkansas freshman duo once again set the tone, even as the Razorbacks played a second straight game without guard DJ Wagner and Karter Knox. LSU, meanwhile, was without its leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr. In his absence, senior forward Marquel Sutton carried the Tigers, with senior forward Pablo Tamba also producing, but LSU never found a foothold against John Calipari’s team in any phase of the game.

Fast start, early separation

Arkansas seized control almost immediately, racing to a 10–2 lead by the first media timeout and setting a tone that never softened. LSU opened 0 for 7 from the field, committed three early turnovers, and watched the Razorbacks turn those mistakes into six quick points. The building never had a chance to find its voice.

Out of the timeout, Thomas hit a jumper to make it 12–2 before Carter answered with a three. The response was immediate. Thomas scored again, a Sutton turnover became an easy Acuff layup, and Arkansas pushed the lead to 16–5. 

Thomas then blocked a Carter three-point attempt, Richmond followed with a second-chance layup after a missed transition dunk, and when Carter made it 18–8 with a putback, Arkansas answered with a quick 4–0 burst, capped by an alley-oop from Acuff to Ewin off a Brazile steal. Acuff scored nine early points, outscoring LSU by himself as the Razorbacks built a 22–8 lead by the second media timeout.

LSU briefly steadied itself, trimming the margin with a short run, but Thomas stopped it with a tough runner in the paint. After an empty LSU possession, Nwoko finished an emphatic dunk on a feed from Reece, Brazile buried a straightaway three, and Acuff drilled a pull-up three off an Ewin screen to make it 31–16 at the under-eight timeout. 

At that point, Arkansas was 13 of 23 from the floor, LSU just 7 of 23, and the Razorbacks held a 10–2 edge in points off turnovers after forcing seven mistakes.

The pace slowed briefly, allowing LSU to cut the deficit to 31–22, but Arkansas never lost control. Richmond answered in transition, Ewin tipped in a miss, and Acuff countered Sutton’s first three of the night with a runner in the paint. Late in the half, Thomas and Sealy traded free throws and finishes, and Reece scored at the buzzer, sending Arkansas into halftime with a 42–27 lead. At the break, the Razorbacks were shooting 50 percent from the floor, had forced eight turnovers, committed only four, and recorded seven first-half blocks, a statistical reflection of a game they had already bent firmly in their direction.

Second-half surge

Arkansas widened the gap after halftime. Acuff opened the half with six straight points, pushing the lead to 48–29. Mackinnon answered with a step-through layup, but Richmond swatted away his next attempt, triggering a runout dunk by Thomas. Moments later, Brazile jumped a passing lane for a steal and another fast-break chance, forcing Sutton to foul to prevent the layup.

By the under-16 timeout, Arkansas led 50–33 and kept pressing. After free throws from Nwoko and a second-chance tip-in by Ewin, LSU briefly answered with a Sutton slam. The response was decisive. Arkansas ripped off a 7–0 run, fueled by two turnovers and a Thomas three, stretching the margin to 60–37. The Razorbacks then held LSU without a field goal for more than three minutes, as the Tigers went 1 of their last 13 from the floor entering the under-12 timeout. Out of the break, the run grew to 16–1 over 3:22, pushing the lead to 69–39 before a Sutton second-chance basket finally stopped it.

The separation only grew. Tamba and Richmond traded free throws and baskets before Sealy finished an alley-oop from Acuff to make it 72–42 at the under-eight timeout.

 Shortly after, Tamba drew a foul from Sealy and converted two free throws, and Acuff answered with a layup. Moments later, Ewin took an elbow while rebounding, fell near the scorer’s table, and was bleeding profusely. He went straight to the locker room and did not return, and Tamba’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant.

Thomas and Acuff decided who would shoot the technical free throws with rock, paper, scissors, and Thomas won, converting both to make it 76–46. Brazile followed with an and-one, Acuff added a layup, and Pringle finished an emphatic putback slam to extend the lead to 83–49. 

With the outcome settled, Brazile and Richmond added layups before Calipari emptied the bench with Arkansas ahead 91–55. LSU closed the final 1:41 on a 7–0 run in garbage time, setting the final score at 91–62.

By the numbers

Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. set the tone for Arkansas, pouring in 28 points on 13 of 22 shooting while adding a team-high five assists. He was one of four Razorbacks to reach double figures, joined by fellow freshman Meleek Thomas, who delivered 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting, including 1 of 4 from beyond the arc.

Trevon Brazile anchored the performance with a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double, pairing his scoring and rebounding with five blocks and four steals over 37 minutes. He finished with a game-high plus/minus of +38, a statistical reflection of his two-way impact. Billy Richmond rounded out the double-figure scorers, finishing with 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting.

Arkansas’s balance was matched by its efficiency. The Razorbacks shot 35 of 62 from the floor (56.5 percent) and 3 of 12 from three-point range (25 percent), while holding LSU to 21 of 68 shooting overall (30.9 percent) and just 3 of 21 from deep (14.3 percent). LSU won the rebounding battle 43–36, including a 21–8 edge on the offensive glass, but managed only a 13–10 advantage in second-chance points. Arkansas, meanwhile, controlled the interior, blocking 10 shots to LSU’s none and outscoring the Tigers 64–34 in the paint.

For LSU, Marquel Sutton led the way with 18 points on 7 of 16 shooting, including 1 of 5 from three-point range, while Pablo Tamba added 11 points on 3 of 7 shooting.

Up next

After back-to-back road wins and in impressive form, Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena on Valentine’s Day for a home matchup with the Auburn Tigers, who enter amid a troubling losing streak. Tip-off for the rematch of the earlier road loss is set for 7:30 p.m. CST, with national television coverage on ESPN.