The LSU Tigers held an eight-point lead in the second half, then watched Arkansas' surge erase it. In a painful collapse, the Tigers falter again in SEC play.
The LSU Tigers led by as much as eight in the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks, but a late defensive failure led to an 85-81 Razorbacks win on Saturday night.
The Tigers now fall to 13-7 on the season and 1-6 in conference play. This was just another step in a miserable start to the SEC part of the schedule for Matt McMahon's squad.
Arkansas made 11 of its last 12 field goal attempts, cancelling out anything positive done by the LSU offense.
DJ Thomas returned to the Tigers' starting lineup, finally. He had 18 points with three rebounds and five assists, but his poor efficiency might have been the biggest factor in his game.
He was just 7-of-20 from the field. Max Mackinnon was 4-of-12. LSU needs these two to account for a lot of offense, but they also need them to do it while having better shot selection.
Mike Nwoko was certainly happy to see Thomas back, as his rough patch appears to be over with repeat 17-point performances in his last two games.
When Thomas is running things, the offense is certainly good enough to compete against SEC teams. The team overall just doesn't know how to win tough games, and it is a real testament to the coaching.
The Tigers will return to the court on Wednesday night against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. This is a very winnable game as the Bulldogs are just 10-10 on the year and 2-5 in SEC play. If LSU can't take that game, then this season is fully beyond repair.