BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Will Baker scored 25 points and LSU recovered from a home court loss to No. 24 Alabama by cruising to a 95-74 win over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
A week after Alabama became the first LSU opponent to score more than 100 points, the Tigers (12-9, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) went on a 10-0 run early and took a double-digit lead less than eight minutes in on a 3 by Baker for a 20-7 lead and the Razorbacks never got within single digits the rest of the way. The Tigers’ lead reached 28 points, 95-67 before Arkansas scored the game’s final seven points to set the final margin.
The Tigers were 29 of 53 from the field (54.7%), including 12 of 23 from beyond the arc. Baker and freshman Mike Willams III each knocked down four 3-pointers and Jalen Cook added three more.
Baker had his highest scoring game since his 29 points against Mississippi Valley State in the season opener, hitting 9 of 11 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 from outside the arc. Cook scored 20 points for the third time since returning to the lineup in mid-December and scored in double figures for his fifth straight game. Jordan Wright finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists and Williams added 13 points.
Tramon Mark led the Razorbacks (11-11, 2-7) with 20 points and six rebounds. Jalen Graham finished with 18 points and Makhi Mitchell added 10 points, three rebounds and four assists. Arkansas shot 24 of 55 from the field and was 3 of 13 from distance.
The Tigers beat Arkansas for the second straight game at Baton Rouge, but the Razorbacks had won four of the last five games in the series coming in.
LSU plays at No. 5 Tennessee Wednesday before facing No. 24 Alabama for the second time in its last four games. Arkansas lost for the seventh time in its last nine games and has six days off before playing host to Georgia Saturday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
