Louisiana State @ Kentucky preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 3, 2018 ) Kentucky 74, Louisiana State 71

Two of the hottest teams in the nation meet with second place in the SEC on the line as fifth-ranked Kentucky goes after its 11th straight victory Tuesday night when it hosts No. 21 LSU, which has won 12 of its last 13 games. The Wildcats have allowed 58.9 points and 37.9 percent shooting from the field during their 10-game winning streak while LSU has scored at least 80 in 10 of its past 11 contests.

“We’re getting better at finishing games off,” Kentucky coach John Calipari told reporters after a 71-67 win at Mississippi State on Saturday. “We really are, with how to play down the stretch, to get fouled, make a shot and what we need to do defensively. But there’s spells in the game where our decision making appears to be ‘I’m going to do this play’ versus ‘What are we trying to do.’” The Wildcats hope to continue tightening all their screws while winning and must come up with another big performance against the Tigers, who knocked off Auburn 83-78 on Saturday and suffered their only loss since mid-December against Arkansas (90-89) on Feb. 2. Reigning SEC Player of the Week Tremont Waters, a sophomore guard, leads the way for an LSU team that has shown the ability to rally in games consistently. “Sometimes we’re hanging by a fingernail, but we hang in there. ... ,” Tigers coach Will Wade told reporters. “We’re able to make plays, get back in the game and hold them down.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT LSU (19-4, 9-1 SEC): Waters is averaging 23.3 points over the last four games to push his team-leading scoring mark to 15.7 while leading LSU with 6.1 assists per contest and sitting tied for third in the nation in steals (3.04). Freshman forward Naz Reid averaged 20.3 points and 9.7 boards over the last three contests to improve his season totals to 13.9 and a team-leading 6.2, respectively. Junior guard Skylar Mays scored 20 against Auburn and averages 13.4 overall along with two steals per game for the Tigers, who average 83.3 points - third in the SEC and just one spot ahead of Kentucky (78.7).

ABOUT KENTUCKY (20-3, 9-1): Sophomore forward PJ Washington leads the team in scoring (14.2) and rebounding (8.0) after averaging 20.8 points and 8.5 boards over the last six contests. Keldon Johnson (13.9 points) is just 10-of-32 from the field in the last three games while fellow freshman guard Tyler Herro (13.3) has drained 6-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc during the same stretch. Senior forward Reid Travis (11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds) is shooting 52.2 percent from the field and freshman point guard Ashton Hagans leads the team in assists (4.5) after matching a season high with nine on Saturday.

TIP-INS

1. LSU freshman G Javonte Smart averages 10.2 points overall, but is shooting just 30.8 percent from the field in SEC play.

2. Kentucky sophomore F Nick Richards leads the team with 33 blocks, already matching his total from last season.

3. The Wildcats have won 11 of the last 13 meetings and the Tigers last won at Kentucky in 2009.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 82, LSU 76