After more than two months since its last victory, Missouri has one last opportunity to avoid going winless in SEC play this season. Mizzou will try to snap its 17-game losing streak this weekend, against an LSU team that’s found its way into the middle of the pack of the conference standings.

LSU was held back early on in its season by the absence of Jalen Cook. The senior point guard was initially deemed ineligible for this year by the NCAA due to being a second-time transfer. The Tigers suffered a home loss to Nicholls State in its second game of the season and went on to go just 8-5 in its non-conference slate.

Once the NCAA was forced to lift its restrictions on transfer athletes, however, Cook took over as the team’s go-to option on offense and helped roster earn some of its confidence back. Even with Cook missing the team's last six games and currently suspended by head coach Matt McMahon for "a failure to meet the standards" of the program, LSU's just a win over MU away from finishing with a .500 record in SEC play

Missouri went up against the team on LSU’s Senior Night last season, just as it will this year. LSU got off to a 19-point lead in the first half before the black and gold stormed back in the second to take an 81-76 win. Mizzou likely doesn’t have the ability to make another comeback of that size this time around. The team will need to be at its best from the jump.

“I believe (LSU is) playing great basketball,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “But our guys are going to go in with the same amount of focus that they have each and every game and that's to give their very best.”

Missouri (8-22, 0-17 SEC) at LSU (16-14, 8-9)

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. CT

WHERE: Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TV: SEC Network

SERIES: LSU leads, 11-4

KENPOM PREDICTION: LSU 79, Missouri 70

1. Go for turnovers. With Cook unavailable to handle the reins at point guard, LSU has a dearth of quality ball-handlers. According to KenPom, the team features five different players who cough it up on 18.7% of their personal possessions. Senior guard Trae Hannibal leads LSU in assists but also has the team’s highest turnover rate, giving it away on 26.0% of his possessions. Freshman guard Mikey Williams, who started 22 games this season, has a negative assist-to-turnover ratio of 36-39. Mizzou’s been one of the better teams in the conference at coming up with takeaways, earning a turnover on 16.9% of possessions in SEC play, which ranks fifth in the league. LSU is a team the black and gold should be able to take advantage of in that regard.

2. Defend the 3-point line. LSU’s best skill on offense is its ability to space the floor. The team’s made 36.6% of its tries from beyond the arc in conference play, the second-highest mark in the league. Among the nine players attempting at least one 3-pointer per game, six are shooting above the national average of 33.8%. Slowing LSU down outside often has a major impact on the outcome of the game — in both of the team’s last two losses against Mississippi State and Arkansas, LSU was held to below 30.0% from distance. Defending triples has been one of Missouri’s major weaknesses in league play, with SEC opponents shooting 36.2% against the Tigers, the second-highest mark in the conference. MU will need to do everything it can to force misses along the perimeter.

3. Keep earning foul shots. Gates’ persistent encouragement for his players to get to the free throw line has started to pay off late in the season. Mizzou’s taken at least 20 attempts at the stripe in each of its last seven games after taking 20 free throws just four times during their first nine outings of conference play. The players’ efforts getting to the line spiked even more after Gates said they were “f—ing terrible” at drawing fouls on Feb. 20, with the Tigers averaging 28 free throw attempts per game in the four contests since then. Foul shots now account for 23.6% of the team’s points in SEC play, the third-most in the league. LSU is in the bottom half of the conference when it comes to sending opponents to the stripe, with a defensive free throw rate of 36.1%. Missouri’s best chance to earn a win will come if it can create a sizeable edge at the line.

LSU’s not an unbeatable team. Mizzou’s won games against tougher opponents earlier this season and KenPom gives the team a 22% chance to pull off the victory. But its been a long time since the black and gold put together a complete 40 minutes. Playing on the road with injuries still holding the team back, I don’t think Missouri will have what it takes to avoid going winless. I’ve got LSU taking the victory, 77-72.

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