Missouri did itself a big favor by crushing South Carolina on the road Thursday. Backing that up with a home win over Louisiana State on Saturday would help take some of the NCAA tournament bubble stress off the team heading into conference tournament play. While Missouri currently sits on the good side of the bubble, LSU has been working furiously just to get into the conversation with wins in seven of its last nine games.LSU's current run began on Jan. 30, when it pulled out a 73-70 home victory over Missouri. Anthony Hickey led the way with 20 points and Andre Stringer added 18 as Louisiana State shot 55.6 percent from the field while holding Missouri to 37.7 percent. LSU has since scratched its way into a tie for seventh place in the SEC, one game behind fifth-place Missouri and two back of Mississippi, which is holding down fourth place and the last double-bye in the conference tournament.TV: 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network, ESPN3.ABOUT LOUISIANA STATE (17-9, 8-7 SEC): The Tigers could have folded after an 82-72 loss at Tennessee on Feb. 19, but instead they clawed their way to a 97-94 triple overtime victory over Alabama and toppled Arkansas 65-60 four days later. That put LSU into a tie with the Razorbacks in the SEC and kept the dream of a 20-win regular season alive. The Tigers need to go on the road again to Texas A&M before finishing up with a tough home game against Mississippi. Senior guard Charles Carmouche has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games to join Johnny O'Bryant III, Shavon Coleman, Hickey and Stringer in averaging double figures. That offensive balance has helped LSU overcome a scoring defense that ranks 10th in the SEC.ABOUT MISSOURI (20-8, 9-6): The Tigers improved to 2-6 on the road in conference play by shooting 69.6 percent in a 90-68 win at South Carolina on Thursday. Jabari Brown, Keion Bell and Alex Oriakhi were so hot from the field that Phil Pressey did not even attempt a field goal while handing out nine assists. Pressey went 9-for-21 en route to a game-high 25 points in the first meeting with LSU but could not pull Missouri out of a 13-point halftime deficit. While the Tigers have had their struggles on the road in conference play, they have yet to lose at home. Missouri grabbed what may have been the signature win for its NCAA tournament resume when it knocked off first-place Florida in its last home game Feb. 19. The Tigers will host Arkansas on Tuesday before finishing up at Tennessee next Saturday.TIP-INS1. Pressey is two assists shy of 200 on the season and 25 short of matching his own school record.2. O'Bryant had averaged 22 points in five straight games before slumping to five points on 1-of-5 shooting while dealing with foul trouble Wednesday against Arkansas.3. Missouri is leading the SEC in free-throw percentage at .750 while LSU sits 13th at .635.PREDICTION: Missouri 78, LSU 73