As LSU continued to peck away at No. 20 Arkansas in Saturday’s contest, a familiar feeling started to creep in for Razorback fans – they’re gonna do it again, aren’t they?
The “Heartbreak Hogs” moniker and “Hogs gonna Hog” mantra are well earned across the athletic department. Last year alone, Arkansas fans watched their basketball team blow a massive lead to Texas Tech in the Sweet 16, their baseball team lose on a dropped pop fly in the College World Series (again) and their football team fall short in countless one-score games.
Through that lens, the Razorbacks (15-5, 5-2 SEC) were up against more than just LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) on a snowy day in Fayetteville.
After bludgeoning No. 15 Vanderbilt on Tuesday, Arkansas appeared hung over in the first half. The Tigers extended their halftime lead to eight points early in the second half, creating a serious gut-check situation for the Hogs.
Then Darius Acuff Jr. put on his cape.
The true freshman almost single-handedly engineered the comeback, finishing with 31 points on 13 of 19 from the field with 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Razorbacks made 11 of their last 12 shots, with Acuff scoring or assisting nine consecutive baskets.
Even with a 52-point second half, Arkansas allowed LSU to hang around until the very end in an 85-81 victory. Sloppy turnovers and porous defense from the supporting cast – and Acuff himself, to a certain extent – only added to Razorback fans’ nerves.
Hogs Get Sloppy
Indeed, this game contained so many of the usual markers of Arkansas’ let-down losses, including a number of boneheaded individual mistakes.
- The Razorbacks held a 79-72 lead after the Acuff-led flurry with a chance to put the game away around the 3:00 mark. But Billy Richmond III passed up a catch-and-shoot corner three late in the shot clock, instead recklessly driving the baseline and throwing the ball out of bounds. The sophomore had a great game otherwise, contributing 11 points and 3 assists, but that was a missed opportunity.
- Earlier in the half, DJ Wagner also made a costly mistake with the game tied at 50 apiece. The junior guard overpursued his man and barreled into the back of LSU forward Mike Nwoko, which allowed the Tigers to retake the lead at the free throw line.
- In the opening sequence of the second half, Nick Pringle didn’t see a wide open Meleek Thomas after he grabbed an offensive rebound, instead missing a heavily contested layup. The senior big man committed fouls on the next two possessions that allowed LSU to expand its lead to a game-high eight points.
As expected from a young lead guard, Acuff wasn’t immune to these mistakes. The freshman went 1 of 4 from the free throw line in the final minute, and turned the ball over late trying to throw an alley-oop to Malique Ewin. On one of LSU’s final possessions, Acuff left his man wide open for an easy layup.
The Razorbacks forgot a number of ingredients in the winning recipe. Arkansas shot a miserable 7 of 18 (39%) from the charity stripe, its worst free throw performance in a conference win in at least 45 years, per HogStats. LSU, on the other hand, loaded up on freebies, going 22 of 25 (88%) at the charity stripe. Arkansas missed seven layups and was minus-8 in the rebounding battle, allowing the Tigers to grab a baker’s dozen offensive boards.
“Thank goodness we had a will to win the last 7-8 minutes,” Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari said postgame. “[LSU] didn’t quit. You had to take the game. They came in, they played harder, they were rougher, they executed. We didn’t stay in front enough so it wasn’t five on five. We tried to steal too many balls. Every time we tried to steal, they scored, and we fouled too much. We shot a really high percentage, except from the foul line. How do you shoot 30% — what are you talking about?”
The Hogs shot 57% from the field and hit 10 threes at a 45% clip, which allowed them to paint over the other shortcomings. LSU hit just 46% of its field goal attempts and was 3 of 15 (20%) from behind the arc.
