Louisiana State @ Arkansas preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 11, 2017 ) Arkansas 78, Louisiana State 70

Arkansas looks to bounce back from two straight losses when it hosts LSU in a Southeastern Conference matchup on Wednesday. The Razorbacks lost a pair of conference games on the road last week, including a setback at Auburn on Saturday, while the Tigers come into the contest having won seven of nine, including a one-point victory at Texas A&M on Saturday.

LSU first-year coach Will Wade has a fabulous freshman in 5-11 guard Tremont Waters, who is averaging 17.4 points, six assists and 2.4 steals to lead the team in all three categories. Forward Duop Reath and guard Skylar Mays chip in with 12.6 and 12.1 points, respectively, but Wade would like to see more production from them and others in order to take some of the pressure off Waters. Both teams like to score, with Arkansas averaging a conference-best 88.5 points to LSU's 82.6 - which ranks fourth in the SEC. Jaylen Barford (18.9 points, 3.5 assists) and Daryl Macon (16.7, 3.8) both are shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range for coach Mike Anderson, who gives them the green light from the minute they hit the floor.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT LSU (10-4, 1-1 SEC): One thing Wade has been looking to get from his team this season is consistency, as the Tigers have followed big victories over Michigan, Houston and Memphis with losses. The team enters its contest with Arkansas off a win over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, and Wade is hoping for a better start than he saw after the other three big victories as LSU started slow en route to setbacks. Getting off to a good start will be key against Arkansas, which has won 11 straight at home and will play much better from ahead with the crowd behind it if the Tigers falter early.

ABOUT ARKANSAS (11-4, 1-2): The Razorbacks are 0-3 in true road games as their defense has forced an average of 9.3 turnovers in the setbacks, compared to the 16.4 forced in the team's other 12 contests - in which it went 11-1. Auburn was the latest squad to deal with the Razorbacks' pressure defense well, outscoring them 16-9 in points off turnovers during an 11-point victory, so look for Anderson to get his team fired up defensively for LSU. Guarding Waters will be a big key for Arkansas, but the freshman has shown a penchant for turning over the ball, averaging 3.3 of the Tigers' 12 per contest.

TIP-INS

1. Tigers F Aaron Epps has played much better of late, scoring in double figures in five of his last seven games after doing so just once in the first six contests of the season.

2. Razorbacks F Daniel Gafford ranks second among all freshmen in the country in field-goal percentage at 65.7, which is good for 19th overall in the nation.

3. Arkansas leads the SEC in field-goal percentage at 50.5, with LSU second at 50.2 percent.

PREDICTION: Arkansas 80, LSU 73