FAYETTEVILLE — LSU took it to Arkansas Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena.
LSU 75, Arkansas 54 - Final
LSU was really impressive tonight, and Tremont Waters did not disappoint. He scored just eight points, but handed out eight assists and grabbed five rebounds.
Arkansas shot just 33.3 percent for the game, and averaged only .818 points per possession, which happens to also be the team's figure from its first three first halves in league play.
Jaylen Barford led Arkansas with 17 points, 10 after the half. Four LSU players finished in double figures.
Arkansas must now rebound and prepare for a Missouri team that handed Georgia a 12-point loss Wednesday. The Hogs and Tigers meet Saturday in Bud Walton. Have to wonder what the crowd will be like after tonight's clunker.
LSU 68, Arkansas 47 - 5:57 left
A majority of fans and all of the energy has left the building. Can't blame them for not wanting to stick around for the end of this one.
Tremont Waters has been so impressive tonight, coming into a hostile environment early on and just being a floor general. He's carved up Arkansas' defense a lot tonight with great poise, and he has eight assists to show for it.
C.J. Jones has hit a couple of shots tonight - both in the lane on one-hand floaters. He's yet to make a shot from outside the painted area in conference play.
LSU 55, Arkansas 41 - 11:24 left
The crowd was hostile and unhappy as it had been all night long early in the second half. The Arkansas bench was hit with a technical foul and LSU clung to a 20-point lead before Jaylen Barford went crazy for a stretch. He's scored 10 of his game-high 17 points since the break.
Arkansas is 8 of 11 from the floor in the first eight-plus minutes. Trey Thompson has two buckets on a couple of easy layups on great feeds from the guards.
Arlando Cook started the second half for the second game in a row.
LSU 41, Arkansas 21 - Half
The Tigers have been really impressive, led by Skylar Mays' 10 points and freshman guard Tremont Waters' six points, five assists and four rebounds. LSU has assisted on 10 of 15 makes.
I wrote about Arkansas' first half struggles yesterday. That was easily Arkansas' worst performance in a half this season, including Houston. Jaylen Barford leads Arkansas with seven points on seven shots. He and Daryl Macon have a combined nine points on 2 of 11 from the floor.
Daniel Gafford is also in some foul trouble again. He picked up his third late in the first half. He's only taken two shots, which is really inexplicable. Adrio Bailey and Darious Hall have pulled the trigger more than Gafford.
LSU 36, Arkansas 14 - 3:55 left first half
LSU extended its lead to 22 prior to the final media timeout of the first half. Darious Hall is Arkansas' leading scorer. He has three points.
Skylar Mays leads all scorers with 10 points on a couple of makes from 3. The Tigers are still shooting well above 50 percent, and have been in the bonus for the better part of the last 6-7 minutes.
LSU 27, Arkansas 11 - 7:52 left first half
LSU's grip on this one keeps getting tighter. The Tigers have a 16-6 edge in points in the paint, which tells me Arkansas isn't looking to Gafford nearly enough.
No Arkansas player has more than two points. The Hogs are 4 of 23 from the floor while LSU has assisted on eight of 11 makes to this point.
LSU 21, Arkansas 7 - 11:19 left first half
Arkansas is now 3 of 19 from the floor and 0 of 7 from deep. C.J. Jones' struggles continue. He's missed badly to the right on both of his 3-point attempts.
Meanwhile, LSU is 9 of 14 shooting and freshman guard Tremont Waters has four points, four rebounds and four assists and flirting with a triple double early.
The Razorbacks are 1 of their last 12 from the field. The first half SEC struggles have been real through three-plus games.
LSU 14, Arkansas 5 - 14:09 left first half
The Tigers are getting what they want on offense, and Arkansas is settling for a lot of questionable jumpers.
The Razorbacks are 2 of 11 from the floor and 0 of 3 from deep while Will Wade's team is 6 of 10 and 4 of 6 inside the arc.
Daniel Gafford is the lone Arkansas player without a field goal attempt so far.
Pregame
Arkansas will start Anton Beard, Daryl Macon, Jaylen Barford, Adrio Bailey and Daniel Gafford. Tonight is Bailey's first start since Dec. 2 at Houston and his eighth of the season.
LSU is running with Tremont Waters, Skylar Mays, Daryl Edwards, Duop Reath and Aron Epps.