Louisiana State @ Mississippi preview

Louisiana State at Mississippi

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2020 ) Mississippi 63, Louisiana State 73

LSU was supposed to visit Missouri on Saturday. Ole Miss was supposed to host South Carolina.

But both games were postponed Friday because of COVID-19 issues in the Missouri and South Carolina programs, so LSU will now play Ole Miss on Saturday night in Oxford, Miss., after the two programs hurriedly moved up their meeting scheduled for Feb. 17.

"We're moving on the fly here pretty quick," LSU coach Will Wade said. "We had to get in there and start some film on Ole Miss and get going."

What Wade saw on film was one of the better defensive teams in the SEC.

"They're physical, they play extremely hard," Wade said. "We're fairly familiar with them. They change those defenses up so we've got to be ready for that."

The Tigers (7-2, 2-1 SEC) trailed Georgia by 10 points with less than 10 minutes remaining before rallying to force overtime and prevailing 94-92 at home Wednesday.

"SEC games are hard," said LSU guard Ja'Vonte Smart, who scored 21 points and made consecutive 3-pointers to help force the extra period. "We have to find ways to figure things out and keep fighting."

The Rebels (6-3, 1-1) lost at Alabama in their SEC opener Dec. 29, then lost a nonconference game against Wichita State four days later before getting back in the win column with a 72-61 victory against visiting Auburn on Wednesday.

"I thought for periods of time that was the best we've played all year," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said of the victory against Auburn. "I thought we got out in transition and really moved the ball."

The Rebels' defense was much improved after allowing 82 points against Alabama and 83 against Wichita State.

They scored 13 points off 16 Auburn turnovers. They have forced at least 15 turnovers in all nine games this season.

Khadim Sy came off the bench to lead Ole Miss with 13 points as the Rebels' bench outscored the Auburn bench 34-9.

Sy had played sparingly in the last six weeks because of a series of injuries and illness. He made five of six shots, including all three of his 3-pointers.

"He's just finally got a little practice," Davis said. "You could tell he's coming around in practice."

--Field Level Media