Will Wade, LSU ready for rematch with JD Notae-led Arkansas

Could the third time be the charm for LSU against Arkansas? The Tigers lost both regular season meetings against the Razorbacks, but will get another shot at victory Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

Looking back on those first two contests, LSU coach Will Wade noticed something about Arkansas guard JD Notae.

“We got lucky,” Wade said. “He missed some shots at Arkansas. Some open shots. We were fortunate. He makes those 9 out of every 10 games.”

In the most recent matchup against LSU, Notae finished with just 12 points on an uncharacteristic 3-for-12 shooting. Considering he typically averages 18.9 points per game while shooting 41.4% from the floor, Wade and the Tigers know to expect more Friday. Notae also seems to have a penchant for delivering even more in the biggest games of the season. He recently dropped 30 points in an upset against No. 6 Kentucky after pouring in 28 in a win against then-No. 1 Auburn.

Although Arkansas automatically advanced to the quarterfinals as the four seed, LSU needed to first win a game on Thursday. It did just that, taking out Missouri in a 76-68 win. LSU jumped out to a 39-23 lead by halftime and saw it grow as large as 26 before a late comeback in the second half.

Forward Tari Eason led LSU with 19 points in addition to five rebounds and two blocks despite coming off the bench. If the Tigers are also to beat Arkansas, they will need another big performance out of the sophomore.

The Razorbacks enter SEC Tournament as possibly the hottest team in all of college basketball. They have won 14 of their past 16 games, though they did lose in the regular season finale against Tennessee. LSU, on the other hand, went 2-3 over its final five games of the regular season. Both teams were well in On3’s bracketology projections as of Thursday, and don’t expect a loss to change that.

Tip-off for the contest between LSU and Arkansas is set for 25 minutes after a game between Auburn and Texas A&M on Friday in Tampa Bay. As far as how Will Wade plans to slow down JD Notae, he has a simple plan.

“Pray,” the coach said.