The 25th-ranked LSU Tigers (15-3, 5-0 SEC) look to continue their impressive winning streak this afternoon as they head to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Mizzou Tigers. Mizzou currently have a 10-7 (1-4) record, albeit with good wins over Oregon State, UCF, and Illinois. LSU notched their eighth win in a row Wednesday night, a sluggish ten point victory over Georgia that gave Coach Will Wade more to criticize than to speak praise. “We played pretty decent defense for 27 minutes. The problem is, that’s not going to get it done when you play really good teams in our league,” Coach Wade explained to the media Friday. “We need to be able to play for a complete game. That’s something we’re focusing on – playing for a full 40 minutes. We’ve got to be able to sustain our defense and sustain what we’re doing for longer stretches.” “We weren’t disconnected. We were a little bit discombobulated,” Wade continued. “We weren’t in our right mind. We were a little bit out of whack, but we were hopefully able to get some of that stuff corrected yesterday with the guys. Hopefully we play better tomorrow.” While any performance that leads to a double digit win should usually be praised, Wade is right in being concerned about giving up 82 points to, by KenPom’s metrics, the second worst offense in the SEC. Mizzou’s offense isn’t particularly much better than Georgia’s, but they play an above average defense and dictate one of the slowest paces in basketball, a direct clash with LSU’s faster style. The Mizzou Tigers are headlined by sophomore Jeremiah Tilmon. The 6’10” center has already recorded four double-doubles this season and is averaging 9.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. “It will be a challenge for us on the road. The big kid Tilmon is really good,” Coach Wade spoke of Mizzou’s players. “When he gets going for them, they’re a totally different team when they play inside out. (Jordan) Geist, the point guard is a good player. He can really shoot it.” Jordan Geist, a senior, leads Mizzou in scoring with 13.3 points per game as well as assists with 3.2 per game. This afternoon’s de-facto SEC/Big XII Challenge clash will tip off at 5pm in the Mizzou Arena and will be televised on the SEC Network. You can also listen in to the game at 98.1FM and join the discussion in the comments below. Projected Missouri Tigers Starting 5 #15 Jordan Geist - 13.3 PPG, 3.2 APG, 32.1 MPG #13 Mark Smith - 12.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 29.6 MPG #23 Jeremiah Tilmon - 9.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 23.1 MPG #24 Kevin Puryear - 8.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 26.3 MPG #4 Javon Pickett - 7.8 PPG, 1.3 APG, 23.6 MPG Projected LSU Tigers Starting 5 #3 Tremont Waters - 14.2 PPG, 6.1 APG, 3.0 SPG, 31.3 MPG #4 Skylar Mays - 13.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 30.3 MPG #0 Naz Reid - 13.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 23.1 MPG #14 Marlon Taylor - 7.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 22.3 MPG #1 Ja’vonte Smart - 10.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 28.0 MPG<doc-sep>If you’ve been gambling long enough, you know that nothing is guaranteed. No matter how likely it seems that your bet will cash, there’s always room for the improbable, the downright ridiculous. LSU opened as a 3-point favorite against Missouri and closed as a 6-point favorite on the road, but found itself down by 14 points with just over two minutes left in the game. Missouri bettors had to be feeling great expecting the home team to close he last two minutes out strong. Enter the improbable. Junior guard Skylar Mays scored nine consecutive points to bring LSU within five points with just over one minute to go in regulation. By the 30 second mark LSU had rattled off a 15-1 run and trailed 70-71. At this point not only were spread bettors sweating, but anyone who had the total at 142.5 was in the danger zone. LSU had a chance to take the lead with free throws at the end of regulation, but Emmitt Williams split the two freebies and sent the game into overtime at 71 apiece guaranteeing that the game would go over. Overtime wasn’t much better for Missouri as LSU started to find their rhythm and pull away. Enter the downright ridiculous. With LSU up by 85-80, Jordan Geist missed 3-pointer that should’ve ended the game until this happened… BAD BEAT 🚨🚨🚨 Missouri (+5.5) led by 14 with 2 minutes to play LSU tied it with 2.2 seconds, it goes to OT Missouri fouled with .9 seconds left in OT and LSU wins 86-80🤮 pic.twitter.com/ClwfrapTDb — BettorIQ (@BettorIQ) January 27, 2019 A foul… with 0.9 seconds left in the game, by the guy who just missed the 3-pointer and ran across the floor to commit said foul. The ultimate “What are you thinking” moment. Just to recap, LSU went on a 30-10 run from the 2:14 mark in the second half for all of this to happen. LSU went on to split the free throws, but anyone who thought they would escape with a win after one of the most wild comebacks of the season only walked away with a brutal beat to remember for a long time.<doc-sep>In last year’s two-point loss at LSU, Waters got the ball when everyone in the building knew he’d get the chance to beat Mizzou. He delivered with a runner in the lane with 19 seconds left, good for the game-winner in a close contest. MIZZOU GUARD DEPTH UPDATED, 4:15 p.m.: Mizzou has confirmed that sophomore guard Mark Smith is unavailable for today's game after suffering a sprained left ankle Wednesday at Arkansas. Watson is expected to start in his place, which will mark the freshman’s first college start and the first change to Cuonzo Martin’s starting lineup this season. Watson’s production has been sporadic. He had consecutive 12-point games in nonconference play then went quiet until a seven-point first half at South Carolina two weeks ago. He played only eight minutes Wednesday at Arkansas and had two turnovers (two) than field goals (zero). Pickett, another starter sidelined at Arkansas, was officially listed as “active” on Friday, which means he should be available Saturday. Pickett is in uniform and going through pregame warmups with the rest of the team. Smith has been one of the nation’s elite 3-point shooters this year. For a team that ranks last in the SEC in scoring, his loss would be costly. LSU FRONTCOURT ADVANTAGE<doc-sep>
After facing as large as a 14 point deficit, the LSU Tigers forced overtime and managed to steal their ninth straight win over the Missouri Tigers by a score of 86-80. LSU keeps on rolling to improve to 16-3 (6-0 SEC) while the Mizzou Tigers have fallen to a 10-8 (1-5) record. Both teams of Tigers slogged their way through a sloppy first half, LSU seemed to play better but Mizzou got a majority of the lucky bounces. LSU shooters could only convert two of their eleven first half three point attempts, the second of which was matched by a Mizzou three pointer at the very end of the first half to send both teams to the locker rooms with 33 points. Naz Reid scored six points in the first three minutes of the second half to retain a 39-38 lead. LSU’s shooters heavily struggled from that point, only converting two shots from the field over the next twelve and a half minutes of game play. At 3:20 left in the game, Mizzou led 68-54 after a Javon Pickett layup. Skylar Mays solely went on a 12-2 run, eventually sparking a 15-1 LSU run over the last 2:08 of regulation. After Mizzou failed to extend a 71-70 lead, Tremont Waters held the ball for the last possession of the game, and attempted a layup. He was well contested by Jeremiah Tilmon, and missed the shot. Emmitt Williams attempted to rebound the miss, but was questionably fouled and granted free throws, only the second of which he would convert. I guess if Mizzou didn’t want a ref influencing the game, they should’ve just played better. Twice the Tigers of Missouri took a three point lead to start overtime, but LSU hadn’t come back from 14 points down to let it all go now. Ja’vonte Smart hit back-to-back three pointers to regain the lead for LSU, and the Bayou Bengals made five of their next six free throws to put the game away. Skylar Mays was far and away LSU’s key weapon this evening. He led LSU in scoring with 24 points, including an incredible 12-2 single man run that gave his Tigers the spark to complete the comeback. That game is lost and stays lost in the scoring drought on previous teams, so to see them claw back like that—on the road, most notably—is very encouraging and something we frankly haven’t seen from LSU in recent memory. On a horrible night of 28.1% three point shooting, freshman Ja’vonte Smart came through late in the second half and overtime to finish with 14 points on 4-of-9 three point shooting. His last pair of three pointers gave LSU the go-ahead lead in overtime. Tremont Waters and LSU’s performance usually go hand-in-hand, and his 1-for-7 shooting in the second half was no exception. Regardless of that struggle, Waters was able to finish with 13 points, 3 steals and 9 assists, falling only an assist short from another double-double. The Tigers of LSU will seek their tenth straight win in College Station, Texas Wednesday night. They’ll take on the 8-10 (1-5) Texas A&M Aggies, who just beat Kansas State to win their first home game in the last five.