Will Baker shares key to hot start against Arkansas

LSU was hot early against Arkansas, leading to a blowout win in Baton Rouge. It was Will Baker getting the job done for the Tigers, finishing with 25 points on 9-11 shooting. A great performance for the two-time transfer and certainly one of his best under Matt McMahon.

Baker had the opportunity to speak to the media following the game, explaining how he got off to a quick start. He gave a ton of credit to his LSU teammates for finding him when open. Sure, Baker was the one making the shots but the passes were getting there when an opportunity presented itself.

“My teammates found me,” Baker said. “I guess the first one was a corner three. I got in a rhythm early. I think that definitely helped me get going. But, all credit to my teammates who kept finding me when I was open. I just stepped in and shot it.”

Sixteen of Baker’s 25 points came in the first half with his first shots falling. Between the under-16 and under-12 minute timeout, Baker hit three three-pointers and another one from the field, helping LSU expand from a five-point lead to 11 in the blink of an eye.

Heading into the Arkansas game, Baker was averaging 11.1 points per game while hitting just 29% of his shots from behind the line. He is LSU’s second-leading scorer but nobody on the court wound up with more points than Baker at the PMAC.

Will Baker propels LSU back to .500 in SEC play

While Arkansas may be struggling at the moment, the win was a key one for LSU. They now sit at 4-4 in conference play following low preseason expectations. McMahon is hoping to get the program into NCAA Tournament consideration and taking care of business at home is certainly a must.

The next two games will be huge opportunities for LSU, facing off against ranked opponents. A road trip to Knoxville will prove to be a difficult one, with not too many teams in college basketball having the resume of Tennessee. It’s not a game many will expect the Tigers to win but if they can pull it off, a shiny new best win would appear on the resume.

LSU will then host Alabama next Saturday, hoping to avenge a loss earlier in the season. Just a week ago, the Tide rolled to a 21-point win, extending the LSU losing streak to three games.

Getting back to winning ways had to feel good against Arkansas but to make a push for a postseason bid, high-quality wins will have to appear in the near future.