Preview: LSU Tigers at South Carolina Gamecocks

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Interstat) — Two Southeastern Conference men’s basketball teams seeking to halt slides will meet Saturday when the LSU Tigers visit the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena.

LSU (13-8) enters on a three-game losing streak, most recently a 80-66 home loss to Mississippi State on Wednesday. South Carolina (11-10) is reeling from a 95-48 defeat to Florida on the same afternoon, its fourth loss in five games.

The matchup is a quick rematch of a Jan. 6 meeting in Baton Rouge, which South Carolina won 78-68. In that game, the Gamecocks held LSU to 38.7% shooting from the field.

A key player to watch for LSU is forward Pablo Tamba, who is coming off a 10-point, four-block performance against Mississippi State. Over his last five games, Tamba is averaging 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds. He scored 10 points in the first matchup with South Carolina.

South Carolina will look to guard Eli Ellis to provide an offensive spark. Ellis scored a team-high 13 points in the loss to Florida and had 10 points in the earlier win over LSU. He has averaged 9.8 points over his last five contests.

Both teams have struggled in conference play recently. Since the calendar turned to January, LSU is 2-7, with its only SEC wins coming against Missouri and a narrow non-conference stretch in late December. South Carolina is 3-6 in the same span, with the win over LSU standing as its most significant conference victory.

LSU’s offense has stalled during its skid, failing to reach 70 points in four of its last five games. South Carolina’s defense, which allowed 108 points to Arkansas and 95 to Florida in its last two home conference games, will aim to rediscover the form that stifled the Tigers three weeks ago.

The game tips off at 6 p.m. EST Saturday as both programs look to build momentum for the final month of the regular season. LSU next hosts Georgia on Feb. 7, while South Carolina travels to face Texas on Tuesday.