SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: LSU at Arkansas

Post Views: 36

LSU visits Arkansas on Wednesday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
LSU	0.469	0.317	0.769	359	1151	369	186	115	367
LSU OPP	0.417	0.317	0.710	301	980	351	168	72	321
Arkansas	0.440	0.325	0.734	220	916	337	238	105	335
Arkansas OPP	0.427	0.262	0.702	313	1110	291	143	89	471

Statistical Leaders

LSU Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Skylar Mays	LSU	29	16.2	155	117	43
Trendon Watford	LSU	29	13.6	148	82	16
Emmitt Williams	LSU	29	13.4	136	110	6
Javonte Smart	LSU	29	12.4	132	54	42
Darius Days	LSU	29	11.7	123	55	39
Aundre Hyatt	LSU	27	1.9	18	4	11

LSU Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Darius Days	LSU	78	131	209	7.2
Trendon Watford	LSU	64	143	207	7.1
Emmitt Williams	LSU	71	122	193	6.7
Skylar Mays	LSU	15	130	145	5.0
Javonte Smart	LSU	18	77	95	3.3
Marlon Taylor	LSU	29	45	74	3.9
Charles Manning Jr.	LSU	13	47	60	3.2
Aundre Hyatt	LSU	14	43	57	2.1
Courtese Cooper	LSU	6	9	15	1.5
Marshall Graves	LSU	0	7	7	0.4
James Bishop	LSU	1	3	4	0.3

Arkansas Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Mason Jones	Arkansas	28	21.3	167	207	54
Isaiah Joe	Arkansas	23	16.9	118	69	83
Jimmy Whitt Jr.	Arkansas	29	13.8	163	75	0
Desi Sills	Arkansas	29	10.4	107	49	40
Adrio Bailey	Arkansas	29	6.9	76	32	15
Reggie Chaney	Arkansas	26	4.3	46	20	0
Jalen Harris	Arkansas	29	4.3	37	36	16
Jeantal Cylla	Arkansas	25	1.1	10	6	2

Arkansas Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Mason Jones	Arkansas	21	138	159	5.7
Jimmy Whitt Jr.	Arkansas	37	100	137	4.7
Adrio Bailey	Arkansas	33	98	131	4.5
Isaiah Joe	Arkansas	13	82	95	4.1
Reggie Chaney	Arkansas	37	54	91	3.5
Desi Sills	Arkansas	17	72	89	3.1
Jalen Harris	Arkansas	10	57	67	2.3
Jeantal Cylla	Arkansas	8	30	38	1.5
Ethan Henderson	Arkansas	13	19	32	1.9
Emeka Obukwelu	Arkansas	2	3	5	0.8

NCAA NET

LSU: 32

Arkansas: 46

LSU Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Darius Days	F	6′-6″	240	SO	Raleigh, FL
1	Javonte Smart	G	6′-4″	205	SO	Baton Rouge, LA
2	Trendon Watford	F	6′-9″	235	FR	Birmingham, AL
3	Parker Edwards	G	6′-3″	190	SO	Mandeville, LA
4	Skylar Mays	G	6′-4″	205	SR	Baton Rouge, LA
5	Emmitt Williams	F	6′-6″	230	SO	Fort Myers, FL
10	James Bishop	G	6′-2″	190	FR	Baltimore, MD
11	Charles Manning Jr.	G	6′-5″	200	JR	Riverhead, NY
12	Marshall Graves	G	6′-4″	195	SR	Ponchatoula, LA
14	Marlon Taylor	G	6′-5″	210	SR	Mount Vernon, NY
15	Aundre Hyatt	F	6′-4″	225	FR	Bronx, NY
20	Caleb Starks	G	6′-3″	205	JR	Lafayette, LA
21	Courtese Cooper	F	6′-9″	220	SO	Elgin, IL
24	Deshawn Thomas	C	6′-9″	250	JR	Dentsville, SC

Arkansas Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Jeantal Cylla	F	6′-7″	215	SR	Lake Worth, FL
1	Isaiah Joe	G	6′-5″	180	SO	Fort Smith, AR
2	Adrio Bailey	F	6′-6″	217	SR	Clarence, LA
3	Desi Sills	G	6′-1″	196	SO	Jonesboro, AR
5	Jalen Harris	G	6′-2″	166	JR	Wilson, NC
11	JD Notae	G	6′-2″	185	JR	Covington, GA
12	Ty Stevens	G	6′-2″	180	JR	Republic, MO
13	Emeka Obukwelu	F	6′-8″	222	JR	Plano, TX
15	Mason Jones	G	6′-5″	200	JR	Desoto, TX
22	Abayomi Iyiola	F	6′-9″	210	JR	Atlanta, GA
23	Connor Vanover	F	7′-3″	230	SO	Little Rock, AR
24	Ethan Henderson	F	6′-8″	210	SO	Little Rock, AR
33	Jimmy Whitt Jr.	G	6′-3″	175	SR	Columbia, MO
35	Reggie Chaney	F	6′-8″	222	SO	Tulsa, OK

Scouting Report

LSU (11-5, 20-9 SEC) defeated Texas A&M 64-50 on Saturday in Baton Rouge. Skylar Mays led the Tigers with 24 points. LSU force 13 turnovers while only turning the ball over 4 times themselves. Because of these turnovers the Tigers simply had more shooting opportunities in all three shooting areas. LSU had eight more shots from the field, eight more shots from 3-point range and four more free throw attempts. It’s not surprising that the Tigers also made more shots than A&M in all three shooting stats.

LSU is second in the SEC in scoring offense (79.7 ppg) and 11th in the SEC in scoring defense (70.4 ppg). Skylar Mays is the Tiger’s top scorer averaging over 16 points a contest. The Tigers have won a lot of very close games, particularly earlier in the season. Hitting on 77 percent of their free likely had a lot to do with pulling out those narrow victories. A plus 6.4 rebounding margin (3rd/SEC) helps as well. This LSU team is almost certain to make the NCAAs. They have the horses to go deep in the tournament.

Arkansas (6-10, 18-11 SEC) fell to Georgia 99-89 on Saturday in Athens. This was a devastating loss for the Hogs who were already on the bubble. Arkansas is still a longshot to make the tourney. They need to win their last two games and a couple in the SEC Tournament to be safe. Georgia just out-shot and out-rebounded (40-29) the Razorbacks to win this game. The Bulldogs made more shots from the field (38-29 FGs) and 3-point range (10-9).

Arkansas has the top scorer in the SEC in Mason Jones (21.3 ppg). They also have one of the best 3-point shooters in the Southeastern Conference in Isaiah Joe who makes over 34% of his attempts. The Hogs are averaging just under 75 points per game which is fifth best in the league. The Hogs are also stellar at defending 3-point shots, allowing just 26% to be made which is No. 1 in the SEC.

This game being played in Fayetteville makes it about an even matchup. Arkansas shoots better at home. LSU hasn’t been quite as strong the second half of the SEC season. Give the Hogs a slight edge to win this one.

LSU-Arkansas Prediction

Arkansas 80, LSU 79

Wednesday‘s game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 CT). TV: SEC Network.