Mississippi State @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 6, 2019 ) Louisiana State 92, Mississippi State 88

The LSU basketball team will give fans of the school something to take their minds off the team heading for the College Football Playoff national championship game when they host Mississippi State on Saturday. The Tigers' football team will play Clemson in the title game down the street in New Orleans on Monday before the attention begins to turn back to a talented basketball team.

LSU is riding a three-game winning streak and began SEC play with wins at Tennessee and over Arkansas behind dominant play in the frontcourt. "I thought the difference in the game was, obviously, our rebounding," Tigers coach Will Wade told reporters after a 79-77 win over the Razorbacks on Wednesday. "We had 23 offensive rebounds. They had 24 total rebounds. We killed them on the glass which allowed us to get more shots up than they did. ... I'm very, very proud of our team. It was a very, very good win. We've got to flip it around and get ready to play (Mississippi) State on Saturday." The Bulldogs are not off to a fast start in league play and dropped the first two SEC games by a combined 33 points against Auburn and Alabama. "We've got to grow," Mississippi coach Ben Howland told reporters after a 90-69 loss at Alabama on Wednesday. "I think for a couple of our guys it's our first (SEC) true road game. For Iverson (Molinar) and D.J. (Stewart Jr.), who I thought both got pretty significant minutes, they got their opportunities that are going to continue to come to them. We'll be better next time."

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-5, 0-2 SEC): The Bulldogs failed to reach 70 points in either of their first two SEC games and shot 33.8 percent in the loss to Auburn before shooting 37.7 percent at Alabama. "We have to knock down all the shots," Howland told reporters after Wednesday's loss. "We got some good looks in the second half. We need to execute better offensively. Their defense definitely caused our problems. That's two games that in a row now that we haven't shot about 40 percent after really having a good field goal percentage and efficiency rating coming into the conference." Senior guard Tyson Carter is coming off a rough two-game stretch after going a combined 5-of-27 from the floor in the two losses.

ABOUT LSU (10-4, 2-0): Tigers forward Darius Days collected 16 points and 16 rebounds and Trendon Watford added 21 points and nine boards while making the key baskets and converting his free throws down the stretch in the win over Arkansas. "(Trendon) is special, man," LSU guard Skylar Mays told reporters. "He's been playing great as we have been going along. He has really turned the corner. I am just so proud of (Trendon and Days). Trendon made awesome plays today." Watford (13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds), Emmitt Williams (13.1, 6.9) and Days (12.9, 8.6) give the Tigers an edge on the interior while Mays (16.1 points) leads the team in scoring.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. LSU G Javonte Smart has scored in double figures in each of the last three games.

2. Bulldogs G Nick Weatherspoon has averaged 19 points in the first two SEC games.

3. The Tigers took the lone meeting last season, 92-88 in overtime on Feb. 6.

PREDICTION: LSU 81, Mississippi State 75