Florida @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2019 ) Louisiana State 79, Florida 78

Top-seeded LSU will try to focus on matters on the court when it takes on No. 8 seed Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. The ninth-ranked Tigers won their last five games of the regular season to claim the conference regular-season crown for the first time since 2009, but they are embroiled in controversy with coach Will Wade suspended amid a federal corruption probe tied to recruiting.

Wade pleaded with the school Thursday to allow him to return to his coaching duties, although he has refused thus far to discuss his relationship with a recruiting middleman. "Last week, when the University decided to place me on administrative leave, I accepted the decision without complaint as I knew that they wanted time to reflect on the flurry of media reports," Wade said in a statement. "With the benefit of a week to consider the circumstances, I believe University officials should allow me to resume my duties." Interim coach Tony Benford guided LSU to its 80-59 win over Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale Saturday and is expected to call the shots against the Gators, who rest on the NCAA Tournament bubble and could use a big upset to cement a berth. Florida, which split two overtime affairs against the Tigers this season, knocked off Arkansas 66-50 in Thursday's second round to snap a three-game slide.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT FLORIDA (18-14): Freshman forward Keyontae Johnson scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds in Thursday's win. "He's come a long way, man. This guy was barely playing early," Gators coach Mike White told the SEC Network postgame. "The first month of practice, before games even started, he's probably wondering, we're probably wondering, is he a redshirt candidate? How much will he actually earn? ... Keyontae's gotten more opportunity. He's taking advantage of it." Senior guard KeVaughn Allen scored 17 points versus Arkansas after four straight single-digit efforts and freshman guard Andrew Nembhard recorded eight assists for the second straight game.

ABOUT LSU (26-5): The Tigers are led by All-SEC first teamer Tremont Waters, a sophomore guard who paces the team in scoring (15.3 points per game), ranked third in the SEC in assists (5.9) and was second nationally in steals (3.1), which garnered him a co-Defensive Player of the Year honor in the conference. Junior guard Skylar Mays (13.6 points) and freshman forward Naz Reid (13.3) were second- and third-team All-SEC selections, respectively. Reid missed the win over the Commodores with injuries sustained at Florida three days earlier but has practiced this week and is expected to play.

TIP-INS

1. Tigers freshman G Javonte Smart, who was the recruit in the middle of the allegations against Wade, was held out of the Vanderbilt game and the school had yet to clear him to play as of Thursday.

2. Gators senior G Jalen Hudson scored a season-high 33 points in the most recent matchup with LSU on March 6.

3. Florida has won 10 of the last 14 meetings, including an 80-58 rout in the quarterfinals of the 2013 conference tournament.

PREDICTION: LSU 76, Florida 69