LSU Basketball’s Best Chances For 2nd SEC Win Are Next 2 Or Maybe Never

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU likely has only two chances left to win a second or third Southeastern Conference game over the next four nights.

IT’S NOW OR NEVER FOR TIGERS, AND MAYBE FOR COACH MATT MCMAHON

LSU (12-12, 1-10 SEC), losers of seven straight, play a team about as bad as it is today at Oklahoma (16-8, 3-8 SEC) at 5 p.m. on the SEC Network. The Sooners have lost three in a row, and none were close – 82-58 at No. 21 Missouri on Wednesday, 70-52 to No. 5 Tennessee and 98-70 at No. 1 Auburn last week. Their last win, though, was an impressive one over Vanderbilt, 97-67, on Feb. 1.

LSU has not won in over a month with the last one, 78-74, over Arkansas on Jan. 14 at home. Arkansas turned that one around for a 70-58 win on Wednesday in Fayetteville.

After Oklahoma, LSU plays the only SEC team it is better than on paper – last place South Carolina (10-14, 0-11 SEC) – at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Tuesday (8 p.m., SEC Network). After that, it is nothing but ranked SEC teams, including three in the top 10:

-No. 3 Florida (21-3, 8-3), Saturday, Feb. 22 (5 p.m., SEC Network)

-No. 5 Tennessee (20-5, 7-5), Tuesday, Feb. 25 (8 p.m., SEC Network)

-at No. 22 Mississippi State (17-7, 5-6), Saturday, March 1 (2:30 p.m., SEC Network)

-at No. 15 Kentucky (17-7, 6-5), Tuesday, March 4 (6 or 8 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU)

-No. 8 Texas A&M (19-5, 8-3), Saturday, March 8 (3 p.m., SEC Network)

LSU has shown improvement in spots during their losing month. Freshman forward Robert Miller III had his best game of the season with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting and four rebounds in the loss at Arkansas in 29 minutes off the bench. And freshman guard Vyctorius Miller had his best SEC game of the season, hitting 4 of 5 shots for nine points off the bench with only one turnover in 13 minutes.

PETE MARAVICH LED LSU TO FIRST WIN OVER OKLAHOMA

NOTES: The Tigers will be playing at Oklahoma for the first time since a 70-61 loss in the NIT on March 17, 2004. … Oklahoma leads the series, 3-2. … LSU won the first meeting, 97-94, on March 17, 1970, in the second round of the NIT in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Senior Pistol Pete Maravich scored 37 points with nine assists and eight rebounds in that game after the Tigers beat Georgetown, 83-82, in the first round. LSU lost the next two to Marquette, 101-79, and Army (coached by Bobby Knight), 75-69. … The Tigers’ other win in the series was 84-77 over the No. 3 Sooners on Jan. 11, 1988, in the UNO Lakefront Arena. … A No. 1-ranked Oklahoma team won the last meeting, 77-75, on Jan. 30, 2016, in the Assembly Center. … No. 16 Oklahoma beat LSU, 94-85, on Jan. 12, 1987, in Oklahoma City.