Preview: Mississippi State at LSU in SEC Men’s Basketball

BATON ROUGE, La. (Interstat) — Two Southeastern Conference men’s basketball teams on opposite trajectories will meet Wednesday night when the LSU Tigers host the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU (13-7) enters the contest looking to stabilize its conference standing after dropping four of its last five games. The Tigers’ most recent outing was an 85-81 loss at Arkansas on Saturday, despite a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds from forward Pablo Tamba. Tamba, a key player to watch for LSU, has been a consistent presence, logging significant minutes and averaging 8.3 points and 7.0 rebounds over his last seven games.

Mississippi State (8-10) is mired in a deeper slump, having lost five consecutive games, all in SEC play. The Bulldogs are coming off a demoralizing 88-56 home loss to Vanderbilt this past Saturday. During this skid, their defense has allowed an average of 86.8 points per game. Forward Sergej Macura, who pulled down eight rebounds against Vanderbilt, will be a focal point for the Bulldogs as they seek an interior answer for Tamba and LSU’s frontcourt.

The matchup pits LSU’s pursuit of a resume-building conference win against Mississippi State’s desperate need to halt its slide. The Tigers have shown an ability to score, eclipsing 100 points in a non-conference game and averaging 78.5 points at home this season. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have struggled to find consistent offense outside of a Jan. 3 overtime win at Texas.

Historically, games at the Maravich Center have been a challenge for Mississippi State. LSU will aim to leverage its home-court advantage and superior record to separate itself in the SEC standings, while the Bulldogs search for a spark to turn around a season that has quickly gone off course in January.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST Wednesday. LSU’s next game is at South Carolina on Saturday, while Mississippi State travels to Missouri.