FAYETTEVILLE -- Completing a sweep of an Eric Musselman-coached team has proven to be difficult for opponents in his nine seasons at Nevada and the University of Arkansas.
Especially for LSU.
The Razorbacks beat the Tigers 94-83 on Wednesday night at Walton Arena to improve Musselman's teams' record to 20-8 when playing a Mountain West or SEC opponent that beat Nevada or Arkansas earlier in the season.
Arkansas is 4-0 against LSU under Musselman after losing the teams' first game of the regular season with all four victories coming at home.
In addition to beating the Tigers in the final game at Walton Arena this season after losing to them 95-74 at Baton Rouge on Feb. 3, the Razorbacks avenged losses at LSU with victories at home in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
The Razorbacks are 12-4 when playing an opponent that beat them earlier in the season during Musselman's five seasons -- including 2-1 this season.
Before earning a split with LSU, the Razorbacks beat Georgia 78-75 at Walton Arena after losing to the Bulldogs 76-66 at Athens, Ga. Kentucky swept Arkansas, winning the teams' first meeting 63-57 at Walton Arena and the rematch 111-102 at Lexington, Ky.
Musselman's Nevada teams were 8-4 when playing an opponent that beat them earlier in the season.
"It's personal," Arkansas senior guard Khalif Battle said when asked about Musselman's record in revenge games.
Senior guard Jeremiah Davenport said Musselman is "a sewer rat" when it comes to making sure his teams aren't swept in conference home-and-home series.
"He's a competitive coach," Davenport said. "He's been there, so he's going to keep being there and that's all I can say. He's just going to keep coming."
Musselman said coaching in professional basketball for 20 years has been a plus when preparing for multiple games against a college opponent.
"When you coach at the pro level, I do think that adjustments are a big part of playoff series," Musselman said. "I think anytime you play a team a second time, you've got to give them a different look. You can't give them a steady diet."
The most noticeable adjustment the Razorbacks made Wednesday night from their first game against LSU was defending Tigers 7-0 senior Will Baker.
Arkansas held Baker to 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting in the rematch after he scored 25 points and hit 9 of 11 shots in the first game against the Razorbacks.
Musselman said the Razorbacks changed up their coverages to keep Baker from finding his rhythm offensively while being defended by Arkansas big men Makhi Mitchell and Chandler Lawson.
"The game plan was to take him out, because he did annihilate us in the first game," Davenport said. "It wasn't his night. The outcome showed it."
Added Battle, "Shout out to Coach for preparing us and shout out to the bigs for executing the game plan."
Battle led the Razorbacks (15-15, 6-11 SEC) with 29 points -- his lowest-scoring total in the past four games. He has 141 points in that span, including a career-high 42 against Missouri, 36 against Vanderbilt and 34 at Kentucky.
Mitchell, a 6-10 senior, had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots Wednesday night. He hit 8 of 10 shots with several baskets coming in pick-and-roll situations.
"Unfortunately we were unable to do a better job there of taking those away," LSU Coach Matt McMahon said. "I thought his physical presence at the five [position] was a big win for them."
Mitchell, in his second season at Arkansas after transferring from Rhode Island, is averaging 13.1 points the past 11 games and shooting 62.1% from the field (47 of 77) and 83.3% (50 of 60) on free throws. He scored a career-high 22 points at Texas A&M on Feb. 20, after having 21 at Mississippi State on Feb. 17.
"You look at his two-year career at Arkansas, he's for sure played his best basketball down the stretch of this season," Musselman said. "He's had some great, great games for us."
The Razorbacks led Wednesday night's game for 37:57 after trailing at LSU for 37:08.
"Much different results than Baton Rouge," Musselman said on Arkansas' postgame radio show. "I think our team is improving from where we were in Baton Rouge."
Texas A&M's 75-69 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday night means Arkansas will open SEC Tournament play next Wednesday night in Nashville, Tenn., as the No. 11 or No. 12 seed and play Missouri or Vanderbilt.
The Razorbacks swept two games from Missouri earlier this season and lost to Vanderbilt at home.
So if Arkansas plays Vanderbilt, it'll give the Razorbacks another shot at a revenge victory for Musselman.
Up next
ARKANSAS AT NO. 16 ALABAMA
WHEN 11 a.m. Central on Saturday
WHERE Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
RECORDS Arkansas 15-15, 6-11 SEC; Alabama 20-10, 12-5
TV ESPN
RADIO Razorback Sports Network