FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas got some revenge for a loss earlier in the season as they used a strong second half to defeat LSU 70-58 on Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas (15-9, 4-7) lost to LSU 78-74 on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in Baton Rouge. It appeared they might be in trouble in this game with LSU (12-12, 1-10) holding a narrow 35-34 lead at halftime. But the Hogs rode the hot hand of Zvonimir Ivisic who scored 25 points, pulled down 3 rebounds and blocked 4 shots to outscore the visitors 36-23 in the second half. Assistant Coach Chin Coleman filled in for John Calipari following the game and talked about Ivisic's game.
"Well, first, I want to apologize for Coach (Cal) not being here," Coleman said. "I know you guys probably wanted Gladys Knight. You got one of the Pips, so I’m happy to step in for Gladys tonight… But no, Z, we’re taking advantage of his skillset. Z is a unique individual in terms of his size, his skill, his ability at 7-2 and his ability to play on the inside and outside. He’s probably one of the better 3-point shooters in the country. Definitely in our league.
"Coach is doing a good job of utilizing his skillset, and the one person that is more simple in terms of schematics, in terms of defensive schematics, is a pick-and-pop 4. A pick-and-pop 5. You can pretty much get a shot for the guy when you want to get a shot for that guy, because typical, normal 5-men aren’t used to guarding some of those actions that we put Z in. You can kind of find a way to get a shot for someone with Z’s skillset."
Coleman talked about the different options Ivisic's skillset gives them on the offensive end.
"He obviously can score on all three levels," Coleman said. "For me, I was so excited and happy for Z that he didn’t just love the three. He liked the three some tonight, and he loved the rim as well. Whenever Z can play outside, make threes, and he did rim-rum. He caught some passes and dunked. He caught some rolls on the rim instead of just popping every time, makes him a dual-threat. In terms of what we’re trying to do offensively, it gives us that look on both him rolling to the rim, him picking-and-popping, now you’re at a disadvantage because you don’t know if he’s rolling. You don’t know if he’s popping. If you want to twirl a guard on him, and then we throw it inside, it’s like, it’s tough. That’s a tough matchup for a lot of teams."
Ivisic was asked following the game what has led to his breakout games recently?
"I don’t know," Ivisic said. "Working hard. Staying consistent, staying healthy. Eating good, sleeping good. Everything. Everything combined, I don’t know, that’s it."
LSU held a 39-38 lead with 17:20 remaining in the game. Ivisic nailed a 3-pointer and the Hogs took a 41-39 lead and never trailed again. LSU's Robert Miller III did tie the game at 41, but Karter Knox, who scored 9 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, put the Hogs ahead 43-41 and they held the lead the remainder of the game.
Johnell "Nelly" Davis had 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals for the Hogs. D.J. Wagner added 10 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists. Adou Thiero didn't have his usual good game only scoring 6 points and pulling down 7 boards.
Miller came off the bench to lead LSU with 16 points and also had 4 rebounds. Cam Carter added 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Arkansas shot 52% (28-54) from the field compared to 39 (25-64) for LSU. Arkansas made 4 of 12 from beyond the arc for 25%. Arkansas won the battle of the boards 39-33.
Arkansas will be at No. 8 Texas A&M Saturday morning at 11 a.m. and televised on ESPN.
photos by Crant Osborne
