Jay Johnson and the No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers will square off against the Missouri Tigers on Friday night in Alex Box Stadium with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m. CT.

Johnson and Co. will put their 12-game winning streak to the test to open SEC play with all eyes on starting pitcher Kade Anderson set to take the mound.

LSU is fresh off of a midweek victory over the Xavier Musketeers after dismantling the non-conference foe 18-4 behind another impressive outing at the plate by the Tigers.

Now, all focus turns towards the conference slate with the first series coming against Missouri.

The Preview: Missouri Tigers (8-8, 0-0 SEC) at No. 1 LSU Tigers (17-1, 0-0 SEC)

DATES/TIME
• Friday, March 14 @ 4:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
• Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)
RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 1 D1 Baseball; No. 2 Baseball America; No. 2 USA Today
• Missouri – unranked
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
ONLINE
• The games will be streamed live on SEC Network +

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. MISSOURI
• LSU has an all-time record of 20-4 versus Missouri in a series that began in 1986 … in the teams’ most recent meeting, LSU won two of three games last season (April 19-21) over Mizzou in Columbia, Mo.

This weekend marks Missouri’s first visit to Baton Rouge since 2022, when LSU swept three games, and all three games were decided by two runs or less … since Mizzou joined the SEC beginning with the 2013 season, LSU owns a 18-4 mark in the series … LSU held a 13-0 edge in the overall series before Mizzou posted its first victory over the Bayou Bengals in 2018, a 12-6 win in Baton Rouge.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. RH Kade Anderson (3-0, 2.08 ERA, 21.2, 6 BB, 37 SO)
Missouri – Sr. LH Ian Lohse (0-2, 5.12 ERA, 19.1 IP, 4 BB, 26 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RH Anthony Eyanson (3-0, 3.00 ERA, 24.0, 5 BB, 35 SO)
Missouri – Fr. LH Wil Libbert (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 13.1, 9 BB, 12 SO)
Game 3
LSU – So. RH Chase Shores (4-0, 3.15 ERA, 20.0 IP, 7 BB, 22 SO)
Missouri – Jr. LH Kadden Drew (2-0, 3.43 ERA, 21.0 IP, 7 BB, 15 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“We’re looking forward to this weekend. The SEC is a big reason why players choose to come to LSU, and SEC Baseball is one of the greatest challenges in college athletics. I think our team has the talent and make-up to meet that challenge, and I’m really excited to dive into it with them.”

The Notes: LSU Tigers Edition

• LSU has won 12 straight games, marking the Tigers’ longest win streak since February 26 through March 18, 2023, when they captured 13 games in a row … LSU is hitting .361 as a team during its current 12-game win streak with 34 doubles, one triple, 23 homers and 135 runs (an average of 11.3 runs per game) … the LSU pitching staff has limited its opponents to a .207 cumulative batting average over the last 12 games … LSU leads the SEC in cumulative team batting average (.346) entering this weekend’s series vs. Missouri.

• Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson turned in a remarkable outing last Saturday versus North Alabama, recording a career-high 15 strikeouts in 7.0 innings in the Tigers’ 6-2 victory … the 15 Ks marked the most recorded by an LSU pitcher since June 24, 2023, when Ty Floyd posted 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the College World Series Finals vs. Florida …

Eyanson limited North Alabama to two runs on two hits with two walks in the seven-inning outing, firing 95 pitches … after allowing the two runs and two hits in the first inning, he blanked UNA over the next six innings without allowing a hit …

Eyanson struck out seven consecutive hitters from the first through third innings, and he retired 13 straight hitters from the third through the end of the seventh inning … he struck out the side in the seventh to complete his outing … Eyanson improved to 3-0 this season, and he has logged 35 strikeouts in 24.0 innings.

• Junior first baseman Jared Jones is hitting .510 (25-for-49) during LSU’s 12-game win streak with seven doubles, six homers and 24 RBI … Jones is batting .448 (30-for-67) on the year with eight doubles, seven homers, 28 RBI and 24 runs scored … he now has 49 career homers, which is tied with Albert Belle (1985-87) for No. 8 on the LSU all-time homers list.

• Sophomore shortstop Steven Milam is hitting .488 (21-for-43) during LSU’s 12-game win streak with four doubles, four homers, 17 RBI and 17 runs … he enters the Missouri series riding a 12-game reached base streak.Freshman outfielder Derek Curiel is batting .474 (18-for-38) during LSU’s 12-game win streak with six doubles, one triple, 17 walks, 20 runs and a .643 on-base percentage …

Curiel is the only LSU player to have reached base safely in all 18 games this season … the Tigers’ lead-off hitter, he is batting a team-high .450 on the year with seven doubles, one triple, one homer, 16 RBI, 24 runs and a team-high .602 on-base percentage.

• Senior outfielder/DH Josh Pearson’s grand slam in Sunday’s win over North Alabama marked the first grand slam of his four-year LSU career … Pearson’s grand slam was the first by an LSU player since May 22, 2024, when Tommy White blasted a grand slam versus Kentucky at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

Josh Pearson and John Pearson each homered in last Friday’s win over North Alabama, becoming the first brothers to homer in the same game for LSU since Clay and Will Harris homered versus Rice on April 6, 2005 … Josh Pearson is hitting .379 (11-for-29) with four doubles, two homers and 12 RBI during LSU’s 12-game win streak.

• Sophomore outfielder Jake Brown is hitting .387 (12-for-31) during the 12-game win streak with two doubles, nine RBI and eight runs … junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson is hitting .366 (15-for-41) over the past 12 games with two doubles, five homers, 15 RB and 16 runs … junior infielder Tanner Reaves is batting .360 (9-for-25) during the win streak with three doubles, two homers, nine RBI and eight runs; Reaves blasted a grand slam in Tuesday’s win over Xavier.

• The Tigers’ pitching staff recorded 20 strikeouts in last Saturday’s win over North Alabama – 15 by RHP Anthony Eyanson and five by RHP Zac Cowan – marking the most Ks posted by LSU in a game since it logged 20 Ks on March 6, 2024, at Southeastern Louisiana.

The Notes: Missouri Tigers Edition

• Missouri is 8-8 this season, and it is No. 11 in the SEC in team batting average with a .301 mark … Mizzou has 17 homers and 26 steals in 32 attempts … the Missouri pitching staff is No. 16 in the SEC with a 6.20 cumulative ERA, and it has recorded 145 strikeouts in 138.0 innings.

• Mizzou head coach Kerrick Jackson is in his second year at the helm of the program … Jackson worked as Southern University’s head coach in Baton Rouge from 2018-20, and he led the Jaguars to a berth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

• Missouri is led at the plate by OF/INF Cayden Nicoletto, who is hitting .422 with three doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBI … C/INF Mateo Serna is batting .328 on the year with team highs of four doubles, three homers and 19 RBI.

Three LSU Targets to Know: Louisiana Prospects the Tigers “Must” Land

The Buzz: Latest on the No. 1 Safety in America, Five-Star LSU Target

Prized LSU Commitment ‘100%’ Locked in with the Tigers

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – A man from Missouri was shot and killed in North Carolina.

According to police, Darden Rhodes, 51, was found shot to death in the 1300 block of Sapona Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina, around 8 a.m. on Monday.

Fayetteville Police Department’s Homicide Unit is actively investigating the case. They ask anyone with information to call Detective J.M. Bergamine at (910) 705-209.

Copyright 2025 KMOV. All rights reserved.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The opponent is set.

Missouri basketball will begin its postseason as the 7-seed in the second round of the SEC Tournament, and now knows its opening matchup at Bridgestone Arena in Music City — 10-seed Mississippi State, which beat 15-seeded LSU 91-63 on Wednesday night.

Mizzou (21-10) fared well in its regular-season matchup against Mississippi State, beating the Bulldogs by 27 points on Feb. 1 in Starkville, Mississippi. But coach Dennis Gates’ Tigers will need to overcome a recent slump to make sure their stay in Nashville lasts longer than one night.

Missouri lost three straight games to close the regular season and has only won once in its past five matchups.

The Bulldogs (21-11) entered the postseason in extremely similar form, losing four of five before beating LSU in the first round of the conference tournament.  

Ahead of Thursday’s game at Bridgestone Arena, here is what you need to know about the Bulldogs since they last played Mizzou:

What are Mississippi State’s weaknesses leading into Missouri basketball game?

In the final games of the regular season, Mississippi State’s defense may have only have outpaced Mizzou.

According to CBB Analytics, the Bulldogs ranked in the bottom 20% of the country for opponents’ effective field goal percentage (59.4%), defensive rebounding percentage (67.6%), opponent free throw attempt rate (37.4%) and overall defensive rating with 1.258 points allowed per possession. That last number was among the bottom mark of all teams nationally.

Mizzou’s problem is that it ranked in the bottom 2% in each of those categories.

But the Bulldogs — uncharacteristically for a coach Chris Jans defense — have been inefficient at stopping teams from scoring.

What are Mississippi State’s recent strengths?

Here are a couple of stats that will make for rough reading for MU fans: In the final five games to close the regular season, no team in the SEC scored more points off fastbreak opportunities than Mississippi State, and only Alabama and Florida totaled more points in the paint.

In that same timespan, Mizzou ranks in the bottom 1% of the nation for points allowed in the paint per game with 41.6 and is dead last in points allowed from fastbreaks with 15.0 per game.

CBB Analytics had not updated Mississippi State’s stats from its first-round win over LSU at the time of publishing, but the Bulldogs scored 36 points in the paint in their 28-point win. They shot 52.2% from the field in the victory.

Mizzou has had some recent defensive struggles, allowing at least 90 points in four of its past five matchups.

Thursday would be a good day for the Tigers to see some defensive improvement.

Player to watch: Josh Hubbard

Beware the hot hand.

Hubbard put up 26 points in Mississippi State’s win over LSU, making six of his 12 attempts from 3-point range to help the Bulldogs advance. He was named to the All-SEC second-team on Monday and backed that up with a tremendous opening night in the postseason.

More: Three Missouri basketball players win conference awards. Here’s who landed on All-SEC list

Mizzou survived a similar night from the star guard on Feb. 1 in Starkville, where Hubbard had six 3s en route to a 24-point night. Missouri won by 27 points, as Caleb Grill had an equally elite shooting night with a 6-of-11 night from behind the arc.

Score prediction: Missouri 86, Mississippi State 77

Mizzou needs a get-right game, and opportunities don’t come much better than this. 

More: SEC basketball tournament predictions: How far Missouri basketball can go in bracket

The Tigers still have one of the more efficient offenses in the nation in recent games. With MSU coming off a single night’s rest and owning a defense that’s struggled to stop teams from scoring recently, Missouri should end its slump here and advance to meet Florida in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Mizzou needs to shore up its leaky defense, but if this devolves into a shootout, Gates’ team still has the manpower to progress.