Without its head coach and a starter from its most recent game, Arkansas took down the No. 12 team in college basketball Saturday.
Jaylin Williams hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:11 remaining to cap an impressive all-around second half, and the Razorbacks beat LSU 65-58 at the Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers (15-2, 3-2 SEC) lost at home for the first time this season.
Arkansas (12-5, 2-3) beat a ranked team for the first time this season.
The Razorbacks closed the game on a 17-2 run after LSU took a 56-48 lead on Tari Eason’s driving slam dunk with 9:01 remaining. Arkansas answered with a 10-0 run and took its first lead of the half when JD Notae hit a three-pointer with 3:31 to play.
LSU tied the game at 58-58 on Alex Fudge’s dunk with 2:16 left. The Razorbacks committed a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession, but regained the ball when Alex Gaines missed a layup. That set up Williams’ three-pointer to put Arkansas ahead 61-58.
Stanley Umude followed a missed Notae free throw with 22 seconds left and Au’Diese Toney hit two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
The Razorbacks out-rebounded LSU 41-31 and held the Tigers to 21 of 55 (38%) from the floor.
Arkansas converted 16 LSU turnovers into 20 points, while the Tigers only capitalized for 13 points on 19 turnovers by the Razorbacks.
Notae led Arkansas with 19 points despite playing only 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Toney scored 12 points and Williams recorded his third consecutive double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Williams also drew four charges and had three steals after a rough start when LSU hit several shots with him as the nearest defender. He had two steals and drew a charge over a crucial four-possession span after the Tigers went ahead by eight points in the second half.
LSU opened the game on a 9-2 run. The Razorbacks rallied and the teams traded leads multiple times late in the half before the Tigers took a 33-31 halftime lead.
Arkansas was led by interim head coach Keith Smart, who was coaching in his hometown of Baton Rouge. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman underwent shoulder surgery earlier in the week and will miss at least two games.
The Razorbacks were also without forward Kamani Johnson, who injured his ankle in Wednesday’s 87-43 win over Missouri. LSU starting point guard Xavier Pinson did not play due to an injury.
Gaines led the Tigers with 14 points, while Fudge and Eason each scored 13. Senior forward Darius Days, who averaged a team-high 14.7 points before the game, was held to 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting and fouled out with 11 seconds remaining.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to play again Tuesday night against South Carolina at Bud Walton Arena.
CORRECTION: An earlier version incorrectly listed a statistic about Arkansas road wins over ranked teams.
EARLIER
1:45, 2H - Arkansas 58, LSU 58
The Tigers snapped their long scoring drought with an Alex Fudge dunk moments after JD Notae missed a long three.
Arkansas came back down on offense and didn't really get into anything Davonte Davis drove under the rim and tried to kick the ball out but it was deflected out of bounds. Keith Smart calls for time.
3:22, 2H - Arkansas 58, LSU 56
The Tigers have not scored in the last 5:39 of the game, and the Razorbacks are scrapping and clawing, and they have a lead.
JD Notae assisted on a Devo Davis left-wing three, Au'Diese Toney tipped in a missed jumper then Notae nailed a three from the top of the key to give Arkansas a two-point edge. Notae is up to 19 points, a game high.
Toney has 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting. He does have four turnovers today, but he's doing some things we saw out of him early in the season. It's huge that he's giving Arkansas some of those efforts again.
Eric Gaines leads LSU with 14 points.
9:01, 2H - LSU 56, Arkansas 48
JD Notae picked up his fourth foul with 10:10 remaining and the Razorbacks down by two points.The Tigers just went on a 6-0 run in a flash with him on the bench.
Notae leads all scorers with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting.
Davonte Davis has three turnovers in the second half and five for the game. His giveaways have been killer. The most recent one just led to a Tigers dunk in the open floor.
An eight-point lead for LSU without Notae feels much, much larger.
11:32, 2H - LSU 49, Arkansas 45
The Tigers have grabbed a four-point lead and the crowd at the PMAC has come to life for one of the few times today.
Eric Gaines added a jumper then Alex Fudge made a layup following a 45-45 tie. Davonte Davis made a tough, contested layup in a pretty chaotic sequence for the Razorbacks to knot the score.
LSU is 6 of 12 shooting in the second half and Arkansas is 5 of 12. The Razorbacks have committed 14 turnovers.
Darius Days has three points on 1 of 6 shooting. He will be at the line when play resumes. Chris Lykes was hit with a tough foul on Days to send us to a media timeout.
15:49, 2H - LSU 40, Arkansas 39
LSU guard Eric Gaines has five points on 2 of 2 from the floor, including a three-pointer, in the second half to lead the Tigers. He has a team-high 12 points for the game.
Gaines has done a solid job filling the void of Xavier Pinson, who is out for a second straight game with a knee injury. He also has four rebounds and three assists.
JD Notae leads the Razorbacks with five points in the second half, and Stanley Umude three on a jumper from the right wing. Notae is up to a game-high 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting.
Umude joins Au'Diese Toney and Chris Lykes with six points. He has grabbed four rebounds, as well.
Jaylin Williams has five points, six boards.
Half - LSU 33, Arkansas 31
Despite missing all eight of its three-point attempts and turning the ball over 10 times, the Razorbacks trail by just one score at halftime in Baton Rouge.
JD Notae leads Arkansas with nine points. He left the game briefly with a pair of fouls but re-entered to shoot free throws when Davonte Davis went up for a dunk in transition, got fouled and lost a tooth after a scary fall to the floor.
Davis has 2 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench today. He has also held Tigers players to 1 of 4 shooting.
Au'Diese Toney and Chris Lykes have played well and kept the Razorbacks in this one. Both players have six points, and Toney has a pair of rebounds and a block in his time on the floor.
The only hiccups for Toney in the half were turnovers in which he stepped on the sideline twice.
Jaylin Williams added five points and four rebounds in the half. He is in search of his third consecutive double-double and fourth straight game with 10-plus rebounds.
Stanley Umude, Toney and Notae accounted for 8 of Arkansas' 10 miscues. LSU, however, has only scored seven points off those turnovers.
Alex Fudge leads the Tigers with nine points at halftime, and Eric Gaines and Tari Eason each have seven points. LSU starters accounted for only 13 first-half points.
The Tigers were minus-4 in Fudge's time on the floor. Darius Days, one of the SEC's leading scorers for the season, is scoreless and 0 of 4 shooting in 15 minutes.
3:19, 1H - Arkansas 26, LSU 24
Au'Diese Toney added the Razorbacks' most recent score - a layup following a missed midrange jumper by Chris Lykes - to give them the lead. That has been about the only offense to speak of in the last few minutes.
LSU has missed its last 5 shots and is 1 of its last 7 from the floor. Arkansas is also 1 of its last 5 shooting.
Chris Lykes and Au'Diese Toney each have six points today, and JD Notae, who has two fouls and is on the bench, has seven. Jaylin Williams has grabbed 4 rebounds to go with 5 points.
6:24, 1H - Arkansas 24, LSU 23
Keith Smart and the Razorbacks have done a great job weathering an early storm by LSU and punching back in an environment that can be hostile when the Tigers play well.
Au'Diese Toney added a dunk in transition that forced Will Wade to call for time.
7:56, 1H - LSU 20, Arkansas 18
The Razorbacks have climbed back from a slow start to make this a game at the next-to-last media timeout of the half. Arkansas tied the game 18-18 on a JD Notae driving layup with his left hand.
LSU responded, though, with a score on a baseline out-of-bounds play. Tari Eason and Alex Fudge both have five points for the Tigers.
Notae and Jaylin Williams leads the Razorbacks with five points apiece, and Chris Lykes has four.
Arkansas is 8 of 17 shooting and LSU is 9 of 18. The teams are a combined 2 of 13 from deep.
11:32, 1H - LSU 16, Arkansas 13
Much better stretch of basketball there from the Razorbacks. Arkansas was a bit soft and nonchalant with the ball in its first few possessions, but playing tougher of late.
Jaylin Williams just added a layup and will have a chance to complete a three-point play when the game resumes. He has 4 points and 2 rebounds so far.
LSU is 5 of 5 from the floor against him to this point. That isn't ideal.
Chris Lykes knocked down a three-ball, and Davonte Davis, JD Notae and Au'Diese Toney each have two points. Trey Wade has two rebounds as well.
Alex Fudge has a team-high five points for the Tigers and Efton Reid has four.
15:32, 1H - LSU 9, Arkansas 2
The Tigers have come out fairly hot on the offensive end and as stout as expected defensively. They are the top-rated defense in the country as of today.
LSU has knocked down 4 of 8 shots, including 3 of 3 against Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams, in the early going. JD Notae also gave up a score.
Au'Diese Toney has the Razorbacks' lone score, a layup assisted by Notae to tie the game 2-2. Notae, Davonte Davis and Stanley Umude are each 0 of 1 from the floor.
The Razorbacks are 1 of 4 shooting so far with three live-ball turnovers. Arkansas called for time.
Pregame
Arkansas’ starting lineup: JD Notae, Stanley Umude, Au’Diese Toney, Trey Wade and Jaylin Williams.
Keith Smart is serving as the Razorbacks' interim coach this afternoon as Eric Musselman recovers from shoulder surgery on Thursday.
Williams recorded his second consecutive double-double in the Razorbacks' 87-43 victory over Missouri on Wednesday. He finished with 13 points on 3 of 7 shooting – 7 of 8 at the free throw line – and 10 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his Arkansas career.
Notae is averaging 22.0 points on 42.6% shooting in three SEC games. In the last two outings, he is 7 of 15 from three-point range after a 1 of 7 start against Vanderbilt.
Davonte Davis had 15 points against Missouri and is third on the team in scoring in league play at 10.8 points per game. Umude is second at 15.5 per night. Wade scored a season-high 17 points on Wednesday.
Kamani Johnson is likely out for this game after injuring an ankle against Missouri. Chuck Barrett said on pre-game radio it does not appear as if Johnson, who is in a walking boot, will play.
LSU’s starters: Eric Gaines, Brandon Murray, Mwani Wilkinson, Darius Days and Efton Reid.
Tigers guard Xavier Pinson, a transfer from Missouri who has averaged 16.9 points per game in his career against the Razorbacks, is not available for a second consecutive game with a knee injury. LSU won without him at Florida earlier this week.
Days and forward Tari Eason, who is No. 10 in the KenPom player of the year rankings, are two of the top 10 scorers in the SEC this season. Days, a 20-point scorer on 9 of 14 shooting against the Gators, is putting up 14.7 points and Eason 15.5.
Without Pinson, Gaines added 15 points at Florida, and Murray, a freshman, had 10 points on 5 of 9 from the floor.
LSU enters play today with the No. 1 defensive efficiency rating in the country, according to KenPom. The Tigers are giving up 83.3 points per 100 possessions this season and also lead the country with a steal percentage of 16.7%.
They have allowed more than 65 points twice this season. LSU’s lone loss came at Auburn on Dec. 29.