After nearly a week off, the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks will return to action and begin postseason play with SEC Tournament quarterfinal action against the LSU Tigers from Amalie Arena in Tampa (Fla.).
Arkansas leads the all-time series over LSU, 40-34, but is just 5-7 against the Tigers in neutral site games, including a 2-3 mark in SEC Tournament matchups. The teams met in last year’s semifinals in Nashville (Tenn.), and LSU snapped Arkansas’ 12-game SEC winning streak with a 78-71 victory over the Hogs. This time, the Razorbacks are coming off a double-bye as the tournament’s 4-seed. LSU, the 5-seed, cruised by 12-seed Missouri in second-round action Thursday.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Under the direction of interim head coach Keith Smart, Arkansas picked up a 65-58 road win in Baton Rouge (La.) on Jan. 15. The Razorbacks completed the regular season sweep last Wednesday, rallying from a late deficit to steal a 77-76 victory in the home finale from Bud Walton Arena. The last time Arkansas beat a team three times in one season was 2000-01. The opponent? LSU.
Tipoff between the Razorbacks and the Tigers is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. (CT) on ESPN. More specifically, Arkansas and LSU will start 25 minutes following the conclusion of the previous game between Auburn and Texas A&M, which tips at 11 a.m. (CT).
WHO: LSU Tigers (22-10, 9-9 SEC) vs. No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks (24-6, 13-5 SEC)
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 11 at approximately 1 p.m. (CST)
WHERE: Amalie Arena (21,500 cap.) | Tampa (Fla.)
TV/STREAM: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Marty Smith) | Available via ESPN App or HERE
RADIO: Razorback Gameday App HERE | Sirius Ch. 134, XM Ch. 190 | Batesville KWOZ-FM 103.3 | Batesville KBTA-AM 1340 | Camden KCXY-FM 95.3 | Camden KAMD-FM 97.1 | Crossett KAGH-AM 800 | Crossett KAGH-FM 104.9 | De Queen KDQN-FM 92.1 | DeWitt KDEW-FM 97.3 | El Dorado KMRX-FM 96.1 | Fayetteville KAKS-FM 99.5 | Fayetteville KUOA-AM 1290 | Fayetteville KQSM-FM 92.1 | Fayetteville KUOA-FM 95.3 | Fayetteville KBVA-FM HD3 106.5 | Forrest City KBFC-FM 93.5 | Fort Smith KERX-FM 95.3 | Glenwood KHGZ-AM 670 | Glenwood KHGZ-FM 98.9 | Hot Springs/Mena KTTG-FM 96.3 | Jonesboro KEGI-FM 100.5 | Little Rock KABZ-FM 103.7 | Magnolia KZHE-FM 100.5 | Marshall KBCN-FM 104.3 | 96.3 Monett (Mo.) KKBL-FM 95.9 | Monticello KGPQ-FM 99.9 | Morrilton KCON-FM 99.3 | Mountain Home KOMT-FM 107.5 | Ozark KDYN-FM 96.7 | Ozark KDYN-AM 1540 | Ruston (La.) KWXM-FM 102.3 | Searcy KSMD-FM 99.1 | Texarkana (Texas) KKTK-AM 1400 | Wynne KWYN-FM 92.5 | TuneIn
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS GAME NOTES:
- This is the 31st SEC Tournament for Arkansas and the Razorbacks are 28-28.
- Arkansas won the SEC Tournament championship in 2000
- Arkansas has reached seven finals (’95, ’99, ’00, ’07, ’08, ’15 and ’17) and 15 semifinals
- Arkansas is 1-1 all-time in Tampa
- The Razorbacks defeated Purdue, 78-68, in the 1983 NCAA Midwest Regional (3/19/83) at Tampa’s Sun Dome.
- Arkansas lost to Florida, 73-58, in the first round of the 2009 SEC Tournament (3/12/09) at the St. Pete Times Forum.
- Arkansas will have five days between its regular-season finale at Tennessee and its SEC quarterfinal match-up.
- FYI, Coach Musselman is 47-10 as a collegiate head coach — 18-3 at Arkansas — when having 4+ days of rest between games.
- However, Arkansas will only have one day to prepare for its quarterfinal opponent, be it LSU, Missouri or Ole Miss.
- Arkansas is 11-1 in games this year when having two days or fewer days rest between games. The lone loss came at Tennessee in the regular-season finale
- According to ESPN Basketball Power Index, Arkansas had THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE NATION over the last 5 regular season games.
- All five of Arkansas’ final five games were QUAD 1 games including four games being among the NCAA NET top 20: – #8 Tennessee twice • at #54 Florida • #4 Kentucky • #16 LSU •
- Arkansas is: 6-5 vs Q1 5-0 vs Q2 6-2 vs Q3 7-0 vs Q4
QUOTES FROM THE COACHES:
“LSU has incredible talent. They’re a difficult matchup for everybody in our league. They have a shooting big in Days. They have one of the best one-on-one isolation players in No. 13. They have a guard in Xavier Pinson who can create off the bounce. They have size with Effton Reid in side. They have a great freshman on the wing. They have some guys that come in off the bench like Gaines that are instant momentum-changing guys. Eason off the bench. They present a lot of problems for people.” Eric Musselman | Arkansas
“I think Arkansas is toward the top end of hardest-playing teams in our league, if not the hardest playing team. Obviously, Notae has made huge plays and Williams made huge plays in both games. Toney killed us at Arkansas. He had 18 points and made everything around the rim. Umude hit some big threes. He’s shooting 40% from three in SEC play. They’ve got a balanced roster. They’ve got a very, very good team. They’ll be extremely well prepared. I think Muss does a phenomenal job of preparing his team and taking away your strengths. We’re going to have to play extremely well.” – Will Wade | LSU
