Arkansas and its young roster have shown clear-cut signs progress in 2016 -- in the friendly confines of Bud Walton Arena, at least.
The Razorbacks have beaten three ranked SEC opponents at home in the last two weeks, earning marquee wins over then-No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 24 Missouri.
Arkansas at LSU
WHEN 7 p.m.
WHERE Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge
RECORDS Arkansas 8-10, 3-2; LSU 7-10, 1-3
SERIES LSU leads 29-14
RADIO KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock; KQSM-FM 92.1 in Fayetteville; KFPW-AM 1230 and KFPW-FM 94.5 in Fort Smith; KURM-AM 790 and KURM-FM 100.3 in Rogers.
ONLINE Statbroadcast.com (live scoring)
TELEVISION SEC Network +
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
ARKANSAS
POS^NAME^HT.^YR.^PPG^RPG
G^Kelsey Brooks^5-9^Jr.^6.6^2.1
G^Devin Cosper^5-10^So.^8.0^3.1
F^Melissa Wolff^6-0^Sr.^6.2^7.9
F^Jessica Jackson^6-3^Jr.^17.4^6.9
C^Alecia Cooley^6-3^Jr.^7.3^5.1
COACH Jimmy Dykes (26-24 in second season at Arkansas)
LSU
POS^NAME^HT.^YR.^PPG^RPG
G^Rina Hill^5-7^Jr.^6.6^2.5
G^Jasmine Rhodes^5-10^Jr.^4.8^3.3
G^Shanice Norton^5-8^Fr.^4.2^2.9
F^Ann Jones^6-3^Sr.^5.8^4.0
F^Alexis Hyder^5-11^Jr.^9.9^7.5
COACH Nikki Fargas (90-61 in fifth season at LSU)
TEAM COMPARISON
Arkansas^LSU
61.8^Points Scored Per Game^56.2
61.5^Points Allowed Per Game^57.2
.366^Rebounds Per Game^36.1
15.2^Turnovers Per Game^16.6
.366^FG pct.^.391
.242^3-pt FG pct.^.310
.694^FT pct.^.655
CHALK TALK Arkansas was outscored by an average of 39 points in its first two SEC road games, but they came against teams ranked in the top five (South Carolina and Mississippi State). … LSU lost its leading scorer, Raigyne Moncrief (10.3 points per game), to a season-ending injury, along with Ayana Mitchell (6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds). … Jenna Deemer leads the Tigers in scoring off the bench with 10.1 points per game and 28 made 3-pointers, with third-leading scorer Akilah Bethel (8.9) also providing a scoring boost in the second unit lately.
— Jimmy Carter
Arkansas (8-10, 3-2 SEC) earned NCAA.com Team of the Week honors Tuesday for the recent hot stretch. The victories served as a shot of life for the youthful Razorbacks, signs that there is progress and the team is improving as it learns on the fly.
Now, Arkansas is tasked with building on its positive momentum outside of Bud Walton. The Razorbacks are 0-8 away from home this year, including 0-5 in true road games. Tonight's game at LSU may be the Razorbacks' best shot to change that in a while. The Tigers (7-10, 1-3) are struggling with injuries and in general, losers of six of their last seven games.
The matchup would seem to present a prime opportunity for the Razorbacks to exorcise some road demons.
LSU's lone win in its last seven outings came at home against Ole Miss on Jan. 7. The two teams have only played one common conference opponent -- Texas A&M. While Arkansas won by six at home against former coach Gary Blair, LSU lost by 18 at home.
The Tigers are 5-2 at home, but both losses have come in the recent stretch of poor play, including an ugly 47-44 loss to Samford on Dec. 28. LSU is sporting a minus-12.7 point differential over the course of the last seven games, with every defeat except for Samford coming by 12 or more points.
Arkansas has won three straight in Baton Rouge after LSU won 14 of the first 17 meetings. All signs appear to be positive given the way Arkansas has played recently, winning five of its last seven with losses only to top-five opponents.
But the Razorbacks will have to find a way to translate most of what it did well in its trio of big home wins -- holding opponents to 57.3 points, getting to the line and shooting a combined 39 more free throws than their opponents and winning the turnover battle -- to finally break through on the road.
Sports on 01/21/2016