Tigers leave Hogs begging for mercy

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The irony of the situation wasn't lost on LSU Coach John Brady as he watched Arkansas slow its pace late in Wednesday night's game at the Maravich Assembly Center.
"For Arkansas to hold the ball and not let LSU score 100 points, now that's a change," Brady said. "If you know the history of this series, it was a little odd.
"When the tables have been turned, people have taken a good beating [from Arkansas], and taken it straight up. But, everybody has their own way of doing things.
"It struck me as a little odd. But that's OK. I didn't have any problem with it."
Problem? What problem could Brady possibly have with the news flash that LSU bites Hogs?
The Tigers, who were 1-15 against Arkansas in SEC games the previous eight seasons, collected on a long overdue debt by pounding the Razorbacks 96-75 in the teams' first meeting of 2000.
"They were aggressive," Arkansas sophomore guard Brandon Dean said. "They took it to us."
It's usually been the other way around when Arkansas plays LSU.
The Tigers' 15 SEC losses to the Razorbacks had been by an average of 11 points -- including six by 14 or more points -- and their lone victory before Wednesday night had been 66-64 three years ago when Kareem Reid missed a shot at the buzzer.
It was LSU's most-lopsided victory in 26 games against Arkansas, surpassing the Tigers' two 16-point victories in the overall series -- 72-56 in the semifinals of the 1981 NCAA Midwest Regional and 62-46 in the teams' first meeting during the 1949-50 season.
"It was definitely nice to beat them," said junior forward Brian Beshara, who led LSU with 23 points and hit 5 of 7 three-pointers. "We finally got the monkey off our back."
While Razorbacks Coach Nolan Richardson credited Beshara with being "the biggest difference in the game," it was team effort by the Tigers.
LSU had seven players score nine or more points, including sophomore forward Stromile Swift (16 points), freshman point guard Torris Bright (13 points, 8 assists), freshman forward Ronald Dupree (14 points, 16 rebounds) and senior center Jabari Smith (12 rebounds, 9 points, 5 assists).
The Tigers (15-3, 3-3) shot 51.7 percent from the field, outrebounded the Razorbacks 52-37 and limited their turnovers to 20 against Arkansas' pressure defense.
"We played terrible, and they played well," said senior guard Chris Walker, who led the Razorbacks with 20 points. "That's why you get a score like it was."
Arkansas (11-8, 3-3) shot 37.3 percent from the field (28 of 75), including 9 of 30 from three-point range. Taking away Walker's 7-of-14 shooting, the Razorbacks' other starters were 4 of 25 from the field.
"I don't care who we were playing, we would have gotten beat," Richardson said. "We would have gotten beat by School for the Blind, because we couldn't make any shots."
Razorbacks sophomore point guard T.J. Cleveland, who came into the game shooting 45 percent from the field, was 1 of 11. Freshman guard Joe Johnson, who combined for 50 points in the previous two games against Alabama and Mississippi State, was 1 of 4. Sophomore forward Dionisio Gomez missed two layups and was 2 of 7. Junior guard Brandon Davis was 1 of 4.
The Razorbacks opened the second half by missing their first nine shots, while LSU went on a 14-0 run to move ahead 59-37 with 14:28 left.
"When you're on the road and miss nine shots and they make a few, I thought our heads went one way and their heads went the other," Richardson said. "That was the game."
LSU's 21-point victory matched Arkansas' second-most lopsided SEC loss. The Razorbacks also lost by 21 points at Mississippi State, 83-62, in 1995. Their most-lopsided SEC losses were by 25 points at Auburn, 101-76, in 1996 and to Kentucky, 99-74, in 1998 SEC Tournament.
"We didn't bring our A game," Walker said. "We brought about a D-minus."
The victory assured LSU of finishing with its first winning record since the 1992-93 season marked the first time the Tigers scored 80 or more points in their last 54 SEC games, going back to Dale Brown's last season as coach when LSU beat Florida 88-82 in 1997.
"They're the type of team that can wear you down," Brady said of the Razorbacks. "But I think as the game wore on, the LSU team wore them down."
If the Razorbacks had beaten LSU, they would be tied with Auburn for first in the SEC West. Instead they are tied for second with LSU and stay on the road for games at Ole Miss and Auburn next week.
"It's going to be tough to come back from a game like this, but we need to keep our heads up and keep working hard," Walker said. "We've got to get over this, because we've got plenty more tough games to go."
That includes LSU's Feb. 19 visit to Walton Arena, when the Razorbacks will be in the strange position of trying to avenge a loss to the Tigers.

This article was published on Friday, January 28, 2000

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