Oklahoma guard Nigel Pack (9) moves the ball while being defended by Tennessee guard Jacoby Gillespie (0) during an NCAA college basketball game in Knoxville, Tennessee, on February 18, 2026. Oklahoma and LSU haven’t had many wins in the Southeastern Conference.
But both won their last match, and both have a chance to continue their upward trend when they meet Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Sooners (14-14, 4-11 SEC) played one of their best conference games, beating Auburn 91-79 on Tuesday. The Tigers (15-13, 3-12) ended a five-game losing streak by forcing double overtime on the road to beat Ole Miss 106-99 on Wednesday night.
“There is a path (to a strong finish), an urgent path,” 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 suggests. They have led at halftime in seven SEC games but have suffered from poor finishing.
This didn’t matter, as Auburn only trailed by 15 seconds in the game.
“I thought we played with confidence,” Moser said after the Sooners shot 50 percent in a second half in which Nijel Pack scored 10 of his 22 points.
Oklahoma is hoping to play with confidence through the end of the regular season and strengthen its postseason restart heading into the SEC Tournament.
LSU is looking to do the same, losing contested games against Tennessee, Texas and Alabama before breaking out against Ole Miss.
“I thought the last three games made us a lot better, even though we were disappointed with the final score,” Tigers coach Matt McMahon said.
LSU overcame an eight-point second-half deficit and held on to a pair of Ole Miss shots in the second half and overtime before scoring 16 points in the second overtime.
The Tigers had six double-digit scorers, led by Max Mackinnon, who had 11 of his 34 points in the final period, which was significant because Mike Nwoko fouled out in regulation.
However, Nwoko’s contribution was also significant, as he scored 18 points, his highest score in 6 games. He made four of his six field goal attempts and all 10 of his free throws.
“We’re trying to find the most efficient combination to give us a chance to win,” McMahon said.
–Field level media
