FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 20 Arkansas will be home again on Saturday night when they play host to LSU in SEC action.
Arkansas (14-5, 4-2) is coming off a big win at home on Tuesday night against Vanderbilt. LSU (13-6, 1-5) has struggled in SEC play, but assistant Chuck Martin showed a lot of respect for them on Friday.
"They've been in every game, and that's not a surprise because the league is so good and has been so good for a number of years," Martin said. "But they've been in every game. They're playing hard, they run really good action. If anyone who's watched LSU play, they run really good action to put their players in the best situation possible. They’re better than what their record indicates."
Dedan Thomas Jr. gives LSU a lift. He has played in 14 games and is averaging 15.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists each outing. He played 17 minutes off the bench in the 79-61 loss to Florida. He was held to two points, a pair of rebounds and three assists in that game.
"When he comes back, he immediately gives them confidence, right?," Martin said. "He's a really good guard who can get downhill, who can make plays at the rim or around the rim, someone that can control tempo, someone that can score the ball. So when you get a kid like that to come back, it instills confidence to the other four guys on the floor with him. It instills confidence in the program and the coaching staff. You can just tell they've got a little bit more pop to them. So he's a good player. He's a good player. So you’ve got to be on high alert when he's on the floor."
While Arkansas has looked good in Bud Walton Arena, John Calipari is still looking for consistency from his team.
"Every day, we're trying to win the day," Martin said. "Every day, in practice, in the film room. That consistency hopefully will come as these guys start to feel more comfortable. I know we have a tendency, you know, just in general, to maybe not have the patience that's necessary to let these guys grow into their roles. And I'm not saying our staff. I mean in general, in life, we’re not as patient as maybe we need to be with young guys, and as the year goes on, they'll start to feel more comfortable and and more confident in their role, which I think will instill that consistency."
In the win over Vandy, the Razorbacks inserted Meleek Thomas and Karter Knox into the starting lineup with Darius Acuff Jr., Nick Pringle and Trevon Brazile.
"You know, I was happy for Meleek," Martin said. "He had a good night, but I was also happy for D.J. (Wagner). I mean, D.J. impacted the game. The minute he got into the game, I don't know if people remember or noticed, he was like hair on fire. Like, he came in on a defensive possession, if I'm not mistaken, and he picked up their guard, I think, three-quarter court, so he was just all over him, and that set a tone for the rest of the game. And then obviously Meleek Thomas shot the ball really, really well. Played really well again. It was good. It worked out. It worked out really well, and we got a bunch of unselfish guys who root for one another. So it was good. It was good to see."
Wagner came off the bench to score 11 points in 16 minutes. Knox, who had started much of the season, was inserted back in the lineup replacing Billy Richmond.
"Yeah, we've tried to emphasize that, not only with Karter, but the rest of the guys on the team," Martin said. "We need to move the ball, but we also need to move bodies. You can't just stand, because teams are going to sag and play elbows and blocks. And to your point, Karter did a great job last year of moving without the ball and we're trying to re-establish him in that sense. And he did an unbelievable job the other night. I mean, he had a 45-cut for a dunk. He had a backdoor cut out the corner. He was constantly moving, which made it really difficult for Vandy to pinpoint where he was at. And then I give Darius and D.J. and the other guards credit. They found him when he moved and cut. We found him and he got high-percentage shots. So it's something that we've been working on and talking about and it was good to see that we were able to execute it."
Brazile is having a very good senior season. He's averaging 12.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. The rebounds, steals and blocks lead the Razorbacks and he's also connecting on 40% of his 3-point shots.
"Yeah, when TB has that type of performance, it gives you an insight on what we already know, because we're with him every day of how good he could be," Martin said. "I mean, there's very few players around the country that can put that statline together. And he's a great guy. He's been tremendous from day one since we got the job and we've seen his growth and his development and he's working at it. When he puts the work into it, which he has been, it's scary what he can be. Because when he performs that way, like we have a chance to be really, really good."
Martin was asked about the possibility of a deep snow before the game making travel treacherous and if he had experienced such a game?
"It was years ago at St John's in New York City," Martin said. "We played Boston College and it was just a really bad snow storm. I think it was 2004 maybe, and it was just– it was one of those games. The game was played, but the arena was empty, half-empty, but it's New York, and it was difficult. It was a mess. If you're asking me, do I anticipate anything like that here? I don't know. You know, the kids, the buzz on campus has been great with our student body. They were unbelievable. The atmosphere our last game, the Vandy game, was incredible, and it has been all year. So, I don't anticipate this slowing our guys down, meaning our student body and our fans."
Arkansas and LSU will tip at 4 p.m. Saturday night and televised on the SEC Network.
