Khalif Battle leads Arkansas to win vs. LSU in home finale

 Khalif Battle continued his scorching hot run, scoring 29 points, while El Ellis added 16 on 6-7 shooting from the field. Battle now has four consecutive games of 25+ points, and Arkansas is averaging a staggering 92.7 points per game over their last three contests. 

The duo of Ellis and Battle scoring a combined 45 points was especially welcome on a night where Arkansas' most consistent scorer, Tramon Mark, contributed just nine points on 2-8 shooting from the floor. Guard play was shaky at times, with Jeremiah Davenport and Devo Davis committing some turnovers in transition, but Arkansas' big men came to play, with Makhi Mitchell adding 19 points on 8-10 shooting, and Chandler Lawson putting an LSU player on a poster for two of his seven total points.

 Arkansas shot 60.8% from the floor and 81.8% from the charity stripe on Wednesday night, showing signs that what was once a dormant offense is coming to life at the right time with the SEC Tournament approaching. 

Arkansas also won the rebound battle, doubled up LSU in assists, and blocked 10 LSU shots on the night en route to their sixth conference win of the season, which puts the Razorbacks at an even 15-15 overall heading into the regular season finale at Alabama. 

One notable player who didn't have much of an impact was senior guard Davis, who scored just three points and only took one field goal, a three-point shot that was badly missed. Davenport only contributed five points but had a crucial putback late in the game to extend Arkansas' lead. 

The biggest takeaway for Arkansas, though, has to be the incredible play of Battle, who is on a tear not many would've predicted he'd be on when he was consistently putting up goose eggs in the scoring column earlier in the season. 

Arkansas will need him to come up big in next week's SEC Tournament if it wants a shot at the championship, a must-have in order for the Hogs to make the NCAA Tournament. 

"It's been amazing watching what Khalif has done," said Davenport. "Playing against him before I came here, I knew what he was capable of. Seeing him grow from the beginning to now is amazing. Three 30-point games is crazy."

Arkansas ends the regular season at Noon ET against Alabama on Saturday before heading into the SEC Tournament later in the week.