Arkansas gears up for a rematch with LSU, a team it barely defeated in January at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas looked great after a full week off against Mississippi State. Now the Razorbacks, who have played their midweek SEC games on Tuesdays more often than on Wednesdays, prepare for another Tuesday tilt, this time in Baton Rouge at LSU.
It wasn't long ago when these teams previously met. They played just a few weeks ago in Bud Walton Arena. LSU led for a good portion of the contest before Arkansas built a lead and then barely hung on for a way-too-close victory over one of the worst teams in the SEC.
LSU is coming off a home loss to Georgia. The Tigers have struggled to maintain any semblance of high-level consistency this season. They have been soundly beaten by South Carolina, Mississippi State, and other less-than-great SEC opponents at home.
Arkansas, having played poorly in its first game against LSU this season, has absolutely no reason to not play better in the rematch. If the Hogs do play significantly better than they did the first time, they should win this game going away, much as they did against Mississippi State (20 points).
It was easy for Arkansas to get up for the MSU game this past Saturday in Starkville. The Razorbacks had a week of John Calipari telling them how deficient they were and how much they needed to get back to basics, especially on defense. It would have been surprising and alarming if Arkansas didn't play a strong game in Starkville. That was the easy part. Now we get back to the regular two-games-per-week grind of SEC basketball, with UA playing consecutive road games and facing that fundamental challenge of stacking wins and good performances.
We made note of this tendency earlier in the season: Arkansas went through January playing a good game followed by a bad game followed by a good game for a few weeks. Then the Hogs slipped, playing several bad games before their week off last week. It's time for this team to relentlessly replicate good performances and show that it can maintain the standard.
The Mississippi State game gave us a taste of what's possible when all the pieces come together on one day. Now it's time for Arkansas to make the pieces fit every day, every game, every possession. Can this team begin to build the consistency we saw in the latter half of February and throughout March in 2025? It's a game UA should win, and it's another crucial measuring stick for this team's maturity and overall evolution.