It has been a difficult season in Southeastern Conference play for both LSU and Ole Miss as they prepare to meet Wednesday night at Oxford, Miss.
The Tigers (14-13, 2-12 SEC) have lost their last five games and are in last place in the conference. The Rebels (11-16, 3-11) have lost their last nine and were tied for second-to-last with South Carolina and Oklahoma going into those teams’ respective games Tuesday night.
“We’ve just got to keep playing hard, keep playing for each other,” LSU freshman guard Jalen Reece said. “At the end of the day, we’re a family, so if we just keep staying together, everything will work out.”
Reece has been a bright spot of late. He moved into the starting lineup three games ago and has had his three highest-scoring games of the season — 15, 14 and 14 points.
He attributed his recent productivity to “playing more freely.”
“The coaches have great trust in me to do what I have to do to help the team win,” Reece said, “so I’ve just got to keep playing hard for everybody to just keep showing why I’m here. This is what I’m supposed to do and what I’m able to do.”
Senior guard Marquel Sutton has been another bright spot, scoring in double figures in six consecutive games, including back-to-back 21-point outings in the last two games.
The bright spot for Ole Miss recently has been senior center Malik Dia, who has averaged 25.3 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last three games.
“He’s playing some really good basketball right now,” Rebels head coach Chris Beard said.
Beard added that he would like to see Dia’s production rewarded as part of a victory, which Ole Miss has not experienced since Jan. 17.
“We’re in the middle of hard times right now, but you can’t hang your heads,” Dia said. “You’ve got to continue to look at film, look at what you did wrong and how to improve and move on to the next game.”
LSU and Ole Miss will both have three more games to build momentum for the SEC tournament.
