Mississippi @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Louisiana State 80, Mississippi 76

LSU may be riding a nine-game winning streak and the only team left in the SEC with an unblemished conference record, but Will Wade isn't about to let his squad rest on its laurels. With their next two games against the worst teams in the league, the 24th-ranked Tigers hope to improve on their one-game lead atop the league standings Saturday when they host Ole Miss.

While Wade hasn't had any qualms about LSU's recent surge, Wednesday's 90-76 victory over Alabama ended an eight-game streak in which the Tigers won every contest by four points or fewer. "It was one of our better games of the year. … It's nice to win the games, but you've got to win them by better margins. We need to get as good a seed (in the NCAA Tournament) as we can get - if we can get in the thing. What we were doing wasn't sustainable," Wade told reporters. The third-year coach, whose squad will visit Vanderbilt (0-7 SEC entering the weekend) on Wednesday, reminded his team that in order to take the next step as a program, it needs to avoid the letdown last year's team had after a similar start (opening 7-0 in SEC action) before losing at home to Arkansas. The Rebels figure to have the Tigers' full attention after Ole Miss dropped an 80-76 decision to LSU on Jan. 18 and gave No. 16 Auburn all it could handle in a double-overtime loss on Tuesday.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT OLE MISS (10-10, 1-6 SEC): Junior guard Devontae Shuler (10.7 points) snapped out of a four-game scoring slump in which he totaled 25 points by scoring a career-high 26 points against Auburn, finishing 13-of-18 from the foul line after attempting 44 free throws over his first 19 games. Sophomore swingman Blake Hinson (11.2) also got back on track after scoring 13 combined points over his previous two outings, pouring in 16 points while logging a career-high 49 minutes. Their efforts helped the Rebels overcome an off-game from Breein Tyree (18.4), who led the conference in scoring entering Tuesday until settling for eight points on 2-of-8 shooting before fouling out with about five minutes left in regulation.

ABOUT LSU (16-4, 7-0): Sophomore forward Emmitt Williams (14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) posted his fifth double-double of the season Wednesday with 23 points and 11 boards. "Emmitt was an absolute monster. … He did a good job of establishing us on the glass. … Our team certainly feeds off his energy. I think the crowd feeds off his energy. He's got a magnetic personality and people enjoy being around him. He's got a really good energy to him," Wade said. In his first game since he was named SEC Freshman of the Week, Trendon Watford (13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds) tallied 17 points to go along with season highs in boards (15) and steals (four).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. LSU will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pete Maravich breaking the NCAA career scoring record. Maravich eclipsed the mark formerly held by Oscar Robertson on Jan. 31, 1970, against the Rebels.

2. Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis' next victory will be the 500th of his career.

3. The Tigers have enjoyed nine-game winning streaks in each of the last two years, marking the first time the program has achieved that feat since the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.

PREDICTION: LSU 85, Ole Miss 73