FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas basketball assistant coach Chin Coleman has a simple explanation for Zvonimir Ivisic's torrid run of scoring across the past two games.
"Sometimes, good offense beats good defense," Coleman said.
Ivisic's offense was great Wednesday night. The 7-foot-2 sophomore poured home 25 points -- one game after scoring a career-high 27 -- and powered the Razorbacks (15-9, 4-7 SEC) to a 70-58 win over LSU (12-12, 1-10).
Ivisic came out of the gates with confidence brimming after his performance against Alabama on Saturday. He took three of the Hogs' first six shots and knocked down his first 3-pointer of the night. He's made eight triples in the past two games.
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But for Coleman, who spoke to the media after Wednesday's win as John Calipari fights an illness, Ivisic's ability to diversify his scoring is what's maximizing the Croatian's offensive output.
"I was so excited and happy for Z that he didn't just love the 3," Coleman said. "He liked the 3 some tonight, and he loved the rim as well."
Seven of Ivisic's 10 field goals came inside the paint. He had a pair of quick hooks over LSU centers, but he also capitalized on the Tigers' defensive scheme. LSU did a lot of switching when Ivisic was involved in a pick-and-pop, and that would quickly prompt the center to go crash the paint.
There were easy points to be found once he got there, and the Arkansas guards succeeded in getting him the basketball. D.J. Wagner had seven assists and Billy Richmond had four, but seven of their 11 combined assists went to Ivisic.
Taking advantage of the LSU switch was a prime focus for the Hogs in the buildup to Wednesday's win.
"We expected it," Ivisic said. "We expected that they are going to switch on me. They're not going to let me be open, but we were working on it for Day 2. It turned out good."
Arkansas desperately needed Ivisic to avoid a season-sweep against LSU. The center went 10 for 13 from the floor and had four blocks while the rest of the Razorbacks shot 43.9%. Karter Knox was the only other Hog to make a 3-pointer.
With the Ivisic's offense and a stingy defense -- LSU was held to 39.1% shooting and only six free-throw attempts -- the Hogs recorded a critical victory. A second loss to the lowly Tigers would have been a hard pill to swallow on the NCAA tournament resume.
Now, they'll hope to ride the Croatian's good form all the way to March Madness. A key opportunity for a Quad 1 victory awaits Saturday when the Hogs hit the road to face Texas A&M.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.