In the Lane

Tigers get snowball going early

Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford has a shot contested by LSU forward Duop Reath during a game Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- LSU got off to a hot start at Walton Arena and never looked back in delivering its second-largest victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks by the score of 75-54 on Wednesday.

"We were fortunate and it snowballed," LSU Coach Will Wade said. "It'll be a totally different game at our place in a couple of weeks, I'm sure. They've got a very, very good team.

"It was just our night tonight. We played very, very well and we just -- it was our night."

LSU snapped a three-game losing skid to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and beat the Razorbacks by their biggest margin in the series since an 85-56 rout at the 2003 SEC Tournament in New Orleans.

'T' time

After a charging call was made against Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford during a fast-break early in the second half, Coach Mike Anderson's frustration came out as he was called for a technical foul by referee Pat Adams.

"I thought it was more than just that call," Anderson said. "I thought there were a bunch of calls like that and those were momentum calls. I mean we had about three of them and they were right there in that circle down there.

"It's just disappointing. Obviously they're going to be judgment calls. I have no idea why I had the technical. I have no idea. I still have no idea. Obviously I can always question the call, but I still don't have any idea why. I don't know, maybe it got personal."

Horrid half

Arkansas turned in perhaps its worst half this season by trailing LSU 41-21 after the first 20 minutes at Walton Arena.

The 21 points was Arkansas' lowest-scoring first half by five points, as the Hogs trailed North Carolina 37-26 at halftime of an 87-68 loss on Nov. 24 in Portland.

The Razorbacks entered the game averaging 41.1 first half points per game. Arkansas had scored 50 or more points in the opening half of four games and had been held to less than 30 points in three games.

Frigid start

Arkansas opened the game by missing its first four shots and going 2 of 16 before Trey Thompson tipped in a miss from Darious Hall.

The shooting hardly picked up, as the Hogs missed their next five shots before a Daniel Gafford layup, then missed five more.

Arkansas wound up shooting 6 of 33 (18.2 percent) in the first half, including 1 of 11 from three-point range. The Razorbacks went 13 of 24 (54.2 percent) in the second half to shot a season-low 33.3 percent. Arkansas had shot 50 percent or better in its first three SEC games and 10 of its first 15 games.

Halftime hurts

Arkansas has trailed at halftime in all four of its SEC games after being behind LSU 41-21 at the break on Wednesday.

The Razorbacks trailed 38-31 against Tennessee before rallying for a 95-93 victory in overtime. They trailed 32-28 at Mississippi State before falling 78-75, and they were behind 47-30 at Auburn in an 88-77 loss.

Streak lives

Jaylen Barford's three-pointer at the 3:20 mark gave the Razorbacks a made three-pointer in 958 consecutive games.

Barford's connection from beyond the arc broke Arkansas' 0 for 9 start from that range.

First five

Adrio Bailey made a return to the starting lineup, his first since Dec. 2 at Houston, but it didn't go well for the 6-7 forward.

Bailey, who started for Dustin Thomas, went 0 for 3 from the floor and 1 for 2 at the free-throw line and committed a foul in his first six-minute stint, then played only one more minute the rest of the game.

Senior guards Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Anton Beard have started all 16 games. Freshman Daniel Gafford made his eighth consecutive start at the five, following eight starts by senior Trey Thompson at that position.

Sellouts

The Razorbacks' upcoming home games against Oklahoma State on Jan. 27 and Texas A&M on Jan. 30 have been announced as sellouts.

Those games will mark the third and fourth sellouts of the season for the Razorbacks, following games against Troy in North Little Rock on Dec. 16, and Tennessee in Fayetteville on Dec. 30. Less than 300 tickets remain for the Missouri game on Saturday.

Brady's back

Former LSU and Arkansas State University Coach John Brady, in the midst of his first season as the color analyst on the LSU Radio Network, made his second appearance at Walton Arena since he was fired at LSU during the 2007-08 season.

Brady said he attended one game at Walton during his eight-year stint at ASU. He compiled a 4-6 record at Walton Arena and was 12-12 against the Razorbacks during his 11-year career at LSU.

"I wanted to stay involved in some way, and this is one avenue," Brady said, who has maintained a residence in the Warehouse District of New Orleans since his days at LSU.

"I've done some TV stuff for ESPN3 and CST there locally. ... When Will Wade came on board he called me, we went and had lunch two or three times. He told our sports properties people and [LSU Athletic Director] Joe Alleva that he wanted me to do the radio, so here I am. I've enjoyed it."

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Sports on 01/11/2018