LSU point guard Justice Hill, a senior from Little Rock, leads the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at plus-3.13.
But Hill, who has 50 assists and 16 turnovers, and the rest of the Tigers figure to have their ball-handling skills tested when LSU (11-1) opens SEC play against the No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-1) at 8 tonight at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
The University of Arkansas has outscored its opponents 266-119 in points off of turnovers, including 69-14 in the previous two games against Bradley and North Carolina-Asheville.
"Our practices, there's been a lot of drill work on trying to create turnovers," Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said. "But when you get into conference play, for the most part, teams take a little bit better care of the ball."
When Arkansas beat Bradley 76-57 on Dec. 17 in North Little Rock, the Razorbacks had a 37-9 edge in points off of turnovers. The Braves had 27 turnovers, more than twice their season average of 13.3 coming into the game.
"I thought we would be ready for this game and be ready to compete with this team, but it's hard to simulate their length and speed," Bradley Coach Brian Wardle said. "They're extremely aggressive, a very handsy team. They're very long and they're very fast in the open floor."
The Razorbacks have six players with a wingspan of 7-feet or longer and an average of 6-9.
Makhi Mitchel, a 6-9 senior, has a wingspan of 7-4. Jordan Walsh, a 6-7 freshman, has a 7-2 wingspan.
In the backcourt, the Razorbacks have 6-7 freshman point guard Anthony Black and 6-6 Ricky Council with wingspans of 6-8 and 6-8, respectively. Junior 6-4 guard Davonte "Devo" Davis has a wingspan of 6-7.
"Anthony guarding point guards with his length helps," Musselman said. "Ricky has got great quickness and length.
"Devo, in my opinion, is as good of an on-ball defender as there is in the nation. Jordan does a good job, and then with Makhi, he's a high-steal player, too, at his position."
Arkansas has forced 20 or more turnovers in five games -- including 30 by Fordham -- and the Razorbacks' average of 18.8 ranks 11th nationally and fifth when only Division I opponents are taken into account.
With an average of 10.7 steals, Arkansas ranks ninth nationally with Black averaging 1.8, Council 1.7, Davis and Mitchell 1.5 each and Walsh 1.3.
"They are elite defensively," LSU Coach Matt McMahon said. "They have great length and athleticism in every position.
"What you can't let happen are those turnovers and bad shots they force lead to transition because they're so explosive in the open floor."
Oklahoma found that out when the Razorbacks beat the Sooners 88-78 in Tulsa on Dec. 10.
The Razorbacks converted 15 Oklahoma turnovers into 17 points.
Arkansas stretched its lead from 43-40 at halftime to 57-46 with 14:31 left as the Sooners opened the second half with five turnovers that led to eight points for the Razorbacks.
Oklahoma senior point guard Grant Sherfield has 46 assists and 25 turnovers on the season, but he had 3 and 4 against Arkansas.
"Turnover, basket. Turnover, basket. Turnover, basket," Sooners Coach Porter Moser said in summing up the Razorbacks' ability to convert defense into offense. "That first five minutes of the second half dictated so much. They were just feeding off those turnovers."
In the Razorbacks' most recent game, they beat UNC-Asheville 85-51 last Wednesday and outscored the Bulldogs 32-5 in points off of turnovers.
"We're all long, we're all athletic," Council said. "We've just done a great job using our length, and then when we get steals, converting on it.
"I know we've been playing a little smaller teams, but if we continue that same defensive activity and lock in, I feel like we can have, not as big of a number, but a good, decent number in conference play against better teams."
In November 2018 Hill became the final signee for Coach Mike Anderson, who was fired after the 2018-19 season.
Hill enrolled at Arkansas in January 2019 and practiced with the Razorbacks for the spring semester.
After Musselman was hired from Nevada, Hill entered the transfer portal and played as a freshman at Salt Lake City Community College.
Hill then transferred to Murray State, where he played two seasons for McMahon before following him to LSU.
After averaging 10.1 points and 4.4 assists in two seasons with the Racers and helping them to a 31-3 record and a NCAA Tournament appearance last season, Hill is averaging 8.7 points and 4.2 assists at LSU and has hit 14 of 46 (30.4%) three-pointers.
"Obviously he had a great career at Murray State," Musselman said of Hill. "He continues to play at a high, high level. Continues to take care of the basketball."
Taking care of the ball figures to be the biggest challenge for Hill and the Tigers tonight against the opportunistic Razorbacks.