Arkansas @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2019 ) Louisiana State 94, Arkansas 88

It will be Daniel Gafford-Naz Reid II when Arkansas visits No. 19 LSU on Saturday for an SEC game. The two young big men, both projected NBA first round picks, put on a show in the first meeting between the Razorbacks and Tigers on Jan. 12, combining for 59 points.

The Tigers won that battle 94-88 in overtime - their fifth triumph in what has become a 10-game win streak - but the Razorbacks, who have started to turn the corner after some early struggles in conference play, gave them all they could handle. Gafford, a 6-11 sophomore from El Dorado, Ark., won the individual battle with potential lottery pick Reid, with 32 points - a total he has not come close to matching since. "Playing against someone like him, that gave me a lot of motivation," Gafford told the media. "He's a great player, probably a one-and-done player, so I had to play up on his level." Reid has also struggled a bit since the showdown, including going 4-of-23 from the field in the last two games for the Tigers, who completed their seventh undefeated January in school history by downing Texas A&M.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT ARKANSAS (12-8, 3-4 SEC): Mason Jones can a factor against the Tigers just as he was in the first meeting when he had 22 points and six rebounds for the Razorbacks, who have straddled back-to-back SEC wins around a loss to No. 15 Texas Tech. Jones, a sophomore has started to heat up again after a pair of subpar efforts, scoring 23 points in Tuesday's 70-60 victory over Georgia. "They're starting to figure things out," coach Mike Anderson said of his team, which had dropped four straight league games. "They're starting to trust each other and the communication on defense is so much better than it was early on."

ABOUT LSU (17-3, 7-0 SEC): While the matchup of Gafford and Reid will garner plenty of attention, all eyes will be on Tremont Waters to see if he can repeat his electric performance from Wednesday's game at Texas A&M. The sophomore guard from New Haven, Conn., netted a season-high 36 points, half of them coming on a career-best six 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds for the Tigers. "He just played an overall great floor game. He got going early, he was aggressive, and he was attacking and when he plays like that our team feed off it," coach Will Wade said of Waters, who is averaging 20.4 points in conference play.

TIP-INS

1. LSU is 29-1 under Wade when it outshoots its opponent.

2. Only No. 13 Houston, No. 17 Buffalo, No. 1 Tennessee and and No. 5 Michigan have longer home win streaks than the 18 straight LSU has won at the Maravich Center.

3. The Tigers, who are 7-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2005-06, had not begun a season 16-3 or better since 1999-00.

PREDICTION: LSU 85, Arkansas 75