Oklahoma, LSU feel they’re on path to strong finish

Oklahoma and LSU haven't gotten many wins in Southeastern Conference play.

But both won their last games, and both have an opportunity to continue an upward trend when they meet Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

The Sooners (14-14, 4-11 SEC) played one of their best conference games, beating visiting Auburn 91-79 on Tuesday. The Tigers (15-13, 3-12) ended a five-game losing streak by battling through two overtimes on the road to beat Ole Miss 106-99 on Wednesday night.

"There is a path, an urgent path (to a strong finish)," Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said.

The Sooners have won three of their last five games and have generally been more competitive than their conference record might suggest. They have led at halftime in seven of their SEC games, but have been plagued by poor finishes.

That wasn't a problem against Auburn, as they only trailed for 15 seconds of the game.

"I thought we confidently executed down the stretch," Moser said after the Sooners shot 50% in the second half, when Nijel Pack scored 10 of his 22 points.

Oklahoma is hoping to execute confidently down the stretch of the regular season and strengthen its postseason resume heading into the SEC tournament.

LSU is looking to do the same, and it had competitive losses against Tennessee, Texas and Alabama before breaking through against Ole Miss.

"I thought those last three games, while we were disappointed in the final score, made us a lot better," Tigers coach Matt McMahon said.

LSU overcame an eight-point second-half deficit and withstood a pair of Ole Miss missed shots at the end of the second half and overtime before scoring 16 points in the second overtime.

The Tigers had six double-figure scorers, led by Max Mackinnon, who scored 11 of his 34 points in the final period, which was significant because Mike Nwoko had fouled out in regulation.

But Nwoko's contributions were also significant as he finished with 18 points, his highest point total in six games. He made 4 of 6 field-goal attempts and all 10 of his free throws.

"We are trying to find the most efficient combinations for us to give us a chance to win," McMahon said.