LSU’s ride in the SEC Tournament came to an end on Friday afternoon with a 79-67 loss to Arkansas in the quarterfinals.
This marked the third time the Tigers and Razorbacks have met this season, with UA squeaking out close wins in the first two meetings. Friday’s game didn’t resemble the down-to-the-wire games the first two were.
Both teams struggled to find any type of rhythm early, starting a combined 11 of 54 from the field.
LSU found itself in some foul trouble in the first, with Tari Eason, Xavier Pinson, Brandon Murray, and Efton Reid all having two personal fouls before the seven-minute mark.
The Tigers took their first lead after Days went to the free-throw line with 6:48 in the first half. LSU hung onto that lead until a technical foul against Will Wade allowed Arkansas to take a one-point lead. Arkansas scored again at the buzzer to take a three-point led into the half.
Individually, nobody stood out for the Tigers in the first half outside of Days bringing down some rebounds. As a team, they hung in there despite the foul trouble and slow shooting, but it was sloppy. Mwani Wilkinson led LSU in scoring in the first half with five points.
LSU had to take a quick timeout coming out of halftime when Arkansas quickly extended its lead to eight. Not long after that, the lead became 16 points as the Tigers could not find anything on offense. Days also picked up his fourth foul with over ten minutes to go in the game.
Wade’s squad couldn’t pick up any steam to really challenge the Arkansas lead. The shots weren’t falling and for the Tigers and Arkansas avoided any extended droughts.
Tari Eason again led the team in scoring with 15 points. LSU now waits to see where it’s seeded come Sunday. The Tigers will likely be anywhere from a six to eight seed.
Here were the standouts for both teams.
Au’Diese Toney
When Arkansas’ top scorer, JD Notae, ended up in foul trouble, the Razorbacks needed to look elsewhere for points.
Toney delivered. The senior forward, who scored 18 in the last matchup against LSU, scored 22 on Friday.
Toney grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hogs as well. Coming into Friday’s game, he averaged 10.4 points per contest, fourth on Arkansas.
Darius Days
Days wasn’t so much a standout player, but he was one of the few Tigers that made a positive contribution on Friday.
Days scored 14 points while also picking up 10 rebounds, adding yet another double-double to his career total. Foul trouble prevented Days from getting more minutes and he didn’t supply the offense LSU needed, but it was a decent day for the senior.
Eight of his points came from the free-throw line, where Days went 8 of 10. On defense, he added a steal and block as well.
Chris Lykes
Lykes provided a spark for Arkansas in the second half. When LSU looked like it might go on a run late, Lykes responded for Arkansas, helping the Razorbacks pull away once again.
Lykes, coming off the bench, poured in 18 points, more than doubling his season average.
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