A Little Lykes Plus Lot of Toney Pushes Hogs Past LSU ... Again
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' Au'Diese Toney did it to LSU again.
And apparently walking in a boot solved what Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman later said was a bruise. He had said earlier in the week he wasn't telling us in the media before Friday's game.
Toney had a game-high 22 points and added 10 rebounds. Not bad numbers for a guy in a walking boot earlier in the week.
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
It was the last one that had the ESPN crew whining about bad sportsmanship. Toney had an open dunk at the end and did it forcefully for a 79-67 final in the SEC quarterfinal win over the Tigers.
The Karen Crew calling the game apparently don't believe in playing until the end. That's what winners do.
"There was still time on the clock," Toney said later. "I was just playing until the buzzer. That's about all."
LSU coach Will Wade didn't have a problem with it because Toney has been a pain for him all season long and they didn't have an answer for it again.
"You can't let it bother you when they whip our ass three times," he said later. "It is what it is. He has really been a thorn in our side. At Arkansas (on March 2), he did the same thing."
JD Notae did his usual thing with 19 points, but Chris Lykes came in off the bench and had a surprising 18 points and half of those came over 1:35 in the second half.
"He came in and did a phenomenal job for us," Hogs coach Eric Musselman said later.
In a game where Jaylin Williams' shot wasn't falling (three-of-10) he grabbed 11 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and a steal, the Hogs made up the points with Lykes.
Toney helped him clean the glass.
"If they beat us on the glass, they could stay in the game and have a chance to win," he said. "We just took that and came out and won on the boards."
Now they have to do it again for a shot at the title.
Texas A&M shocked Auburn and that's another team the Hogs will be playing for the third time this season.
The Hogs lost to the Aggies during a three-game losing streak to start SEC play back in January. A couple of weeks later the Hogs got a win at Bud Walton Arena when A&M started an eight-game losing skid.
"Much like us, they got hot at the end of the year," Musselman said after the LSU win. "They've done a phenomenal job of late of playing really, really good basketball.
"When they went through their losing streak they were able to work their way through it, much like we did, and so we know we're playing a team that's playing with great confidence."
Arkansas' spot in the NCAA Tournament is probably set. They will probably land as a No. 4 or 5 seed on Sunday when the bracket is set.
The Aggies are trying to get there.
"We're playing against a team that is fighting for their NCAA lives tomorrow," Musselman said.
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