Louisiana State @ Georgia preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 23, 2019 ) Georgia 82, Louisiana State 92

No. 21 LSU is flying high entering Saturday’s visit to struggling Georgia, after the Tigers stunned fifth-ranked Kentucky on a buzzer-beating tip-in on the road on Tuesday. But while LSU enters the weekend having won 13 of its past 14 games and faces a Georgia team that’s dropped five consecutive games, Tigers coach Will Wade worked overtime to say his team will maintain the focus that has vaulted his team to second place in the SEC, one game behind national No. 1 Tennessee.

But there is little denying the Tigers are a bona fide conference championship contender and have the potential to earn a high seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament. “We’ve got a very, very good team,” Wade told reporters Thursday. “We’ve grown as the season has gone alone. … We’ve gotten better, and (beating Kentucky) confirmed that for a lot of folks.” The same cannot be said for Georgia, which split its first two SEC games but has yet to win in conference play since, a 73-56 defeat Tuesday at Texas A&M handing the Bulldogs their ninth-consecutive league defeat. “You’ve got to keep believing in each other and that’s hard,” Georgia coach Tom Crean told the media after the loss.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT LSU (20-4, 10-1 SEC): Sophomore guard Tremont Waters continues driving the Tigers' surge, ranking eighth in the SEC in scoring (15.7 points per game), third in assists per contest (6.0), and tops in the league and third nationally in steals per game (3.13). Senior forward Kavell Bigby-Williams sits tied for sixth in the conference in blocked shots per game (1.92) and tipped home the game-winner at Kentucky. The Tigers, whose lone league loss came by one point to Arkansas, return home to face Florida on Wednesday before hosting the Volunteers on Feb. 23.

ABOUT GEORGIA (10-14, 1-10): Sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton leads the team in scoring (12.3 points per game) and tops the league in rebounding per game (9.2) and blocks per contest (2.63; 10th nationally). Junior guard Jordan Harris reached double-figures for the third time in four games with 10 points Wednesday. But the Bulldogs continue struggling for continuity offensively, shooting 39.4 percent from the field as they are averaging 66.1 points in league play.

TIP-INS

1. Georgia’s 16.4 turnovers per game rank last in the league and 338th nationally, but the Bulldogs matched a season best with only 12 against Texas A&M.

2. The Tigers are fifth in the country in steals per game (9.7).

3. LSU topped Georgia at home 92-82 on Jan. 23, getting 26 points and four steals from Waters.

PREDICTION: LSU 81, Georgia 67