Louisiana State @ Vanderbilt preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Vanderbilt 59, Louisiana State 80

No. 18 LSU has a great chance to extend several impressive streaks when it carries an unbeaten SEC record into a road matchup with last-place Vanderbilt on Wednesday. The Tigers have won 10 in a row overall, 12 straight on the road in league action and they are off to their best start in the SEC since the 1980-81 team opened 17-0.

"At the end of the day we're 8-0 in the league," coach Will Wade told reporters after Saturday's 73-63 win over Ole Miss at home. "I think it's the first time in 40 years, something like that. It's obviously not very easy to do and you've got to give credit to our guys. We have to play better. We're going to have to play more consistently moving forward. We have a big week ahead, starting with Vanderbilt on the road." A visit to second-place Auburn on Saturday is looming for Wade's squad, which has recorded six of its eight SEC wins by 10 points or fewer. The Commodores' season continues to go south amid a nine-game losing streak, but they've been more competitive of late. They first dropped a nine-point decision at Kentucky in which they led midway through the second half and then rallied late against Florida on Saturday before falling 61-55 for a 26th consecutive SEC loss.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT LSU (17-4, 8-0 SEC): Sophomore guard Javonte Smart tied his season high with 21 points against Ole Miss, and he is averaging 15.7 over his last six games. Smart is one of five players scoring in double figures on average, a group led by senior guard Skylar Mays (15.3), who was saddled with foul trouble his last time out and scored a season-low four points. Senior guard Marlon Taylor posted his second double-double in a span of four games with 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench Saturday.

ABOUT VANDERBILT (8-13, 0-8): The Commodores lamented the fact that they were unable to sustain any momentum from the solid effort at Lexington, falling behind early against the Gators and trailing by as many as 18 in the second half. "The most that I'm disappointed by is how we started the game," coach Jerry Stackhouse told reporters. "Great momentum from last game and we come out and we were just soft. In so many ways we were just soft. We've got to find a way to get away from that disposition." Freshman guard Scotty Pippen Jr., who ranks second on the team among active players with 11.2 points per game, led the way in the loss with 15.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Commodores junior G Saben Lee, the team's top active scorer with 16 points per contest, is 1-of-18 from 3-point range over his last five games.

2. Tigers sophomore F Emmitt Williams, who ranks fourth in the SEC in shooting percentage (59.4), tied a career high with four blocked shots in the win over the Rebels

3. LSU won seven of the last nine meetings, including an 80-59 triumph at home in last season's only matchup.

PREDICTION: LSU 76, Vanderbilt 67