Florida @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 7, 2018 ) Louisiana State 64, Florida 73

Thanks to its upset victory at Kentucky followed by a win at Georgia, LSU made a huge leap in the rankings this week, moving up six spots to No. 15 and joining Tennessee atop the SEC standings at 11-1. Now the Tigers open a three-game homestand on Wednesday evening with a visit from Florida, one of two meetings with the Gators in the last three weeks of the regular season.

"It probably does more for Tennessee and us to be recognized with Kentucky," Tigers head coach Will Wade told reporters when asked about having teams besides Kentucky atop the SEC. "It's what we're striving to be is what they've been for a long, long time. We've got a lot of work to do. We're not going to get the benefit of the doubt on anything and we haven't earned the benefit of the doubt on anything. We've just got to keep plugging along and keep trying to work as hard as we can to try to break that stuff down. ... I don't think people are shaking in their boots when they see the Purple and Gold coming, but hopefully we can get there at some point." The Tigers are on their way, off to their best SEC start since 2009 and their best start in league road games (7-0) since 1981, with perhaps their biggest challenge ahead on Saturday against Tennessee. LSU, however, can't overlook the Gators, who are on a two-game roll and enter the matchup with the conference's top scoring defense (63.1 ppg), one that held Alabama to its lowest total in conference play this season in a 71-53 rout Saturday. Point guard Andrew Nembhard spurred Florida on to victory and was named Freshman of the Week for the second time this season after hitting all nine of his shots from the floor -- only the fourth Gator since 1996-97 with a perfect effort from the field with nine-plus shots -- and posting a career-high 21 points.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT FLORIDA (14-11, 6-6 SEC): Nembhard wasn't the only freshman with a huge performance against Alabama as Keyontae Johnson produced his first career double-double with 14 points and a personal-best 13 rebounds, the fourth time in the last five games that he tallied at least nine boards. However, fellow freshman and the team's second-leading scorer Noah Locke fell far short with the first scoreless effort of his career (0-for-4) on the heels of his 1-for-9 showing last week against Vanderbilt as he struggles with hip/groin pain. In giving up just 53 points to the Crimson Tide, Florida held Alabama 22.3 points below its season average and the Gators have now held 10 major conference opponents at least 19 points below their season scoring average entering the matchup.

ABOUT LSU (21-4, 11-1): The Tigers hit 55.4 percent of their shots against Georgia after shooting a red-hot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the first half, with sophomore guard Tremont Waters (15.9 ppg and 6.0 apg) leading the team with 20 points and freshman guard Javonte Smart (10.4 ppg) right behind with a season-high 19. LSU will look to challenge Florida's press defense and the Tigers (82.9 ppg) rank second in the conference to Tennessee (84.8) in scoring. The Tigers lead the SEC in steals (9.6), with at least 10 in 13 games, and they are protecting the ball well with just eight turnovers in each of the last two games, including none in the second half of the Georgia win.

TIP-INS

1. LSU leads the series 63-46, but Florida won the last meeting, 73-64, a year ago.

2. All four victories in the Tigers' current winning streak have come by five points or less.

3. The Gators set a school record with 19 3-pointers in their last trip to Baton Rouge (Jan. 25, 2017).

PREDICTION: LSU 69, Florida 60