South Carolina @ Louisiana State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 28, 2018 ) Louisiana State 74, South Carolina 83

Attempting to win without Chris Silva is not something Frank Martin wants to see South Carolina do again anytime soon, particularly in Saturday's SEC game at LSU. Silva logged his lowest point total in two seasons, but the Gamecocks won anyway Wednesday at Vanderbilt to set up a showdown with the Tigers to see who will remain unbeaten in the conference.

Silva scored two points before fouling out in 13 minutes against Vanderbilt, but freshman A.J. Lawson filled the void with 24 points - one off his career high - and the Gamecocks won their fifth straight. "Don't get me wrong, we need Chris to play well," Martin told the media after his team improved to 7-13 when Silva fouls out. "It's a matter of being resilient, being a team, and not depending on just one individual." The Tigers followed a bad half of basketball with perhaps their best of the season Tuesday to snap the 10-game win streak of No. 20 Ole Miss while pushing their own to six straight. Will Wade's team was lethal from beyond the arc, but the main difference came at the foul line, where it enjoyed an 11-point edge over one of the better foul shooting teams in the SEC.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (9-7, 4-0 SEC): It is Lawson and not Silva that leads the Gamecocks in scoring, although the 6-6 guard from Toronto had been struggling in his first foray into the SEC prior to Wednesday's game. Lawson will have two or three games in which he struggles to make shots, as he did in his first three SEC games when he went a combined 9-of-29, but then he will have a game where he seemingly can't miss such as the 8-of-14 effort against Vanderbilt. Silva is the more consistent player and the native of Gabon, Africa, had scored in double figures in eight straight games prior to Wednesday's aberration, which was his lowest output registering two points against Georgia in February 2017.

ABOUT LSU (13-3, 3-0): Kavell Bigby-Williams has recorded four double-doubles in the last eight games, but they have been followed by subpar games, including being held scoreless against Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas. The senior forward from London had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots - his third game this season with at least five blocks - in the win over Ole Miss. Tremont Waters, a sophomore guard from New Haven, Conn., has averaged 17.5 points, 7.8 assists and three steals during the six-game win streak, including going 21-of-27 from the foul line.

TIP-INS

1. With a win, the Gamecocks can open SEC play at 5-0 for the third time, joining the 2016-17 (5-0) and 1991-92 (11-0) squads.

2. Silva has averaged 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds as South Carolina, which leads the series 18-15, have won three straight against the Tigers.

3. LSU junior G Skylar Mays made three 3-pointers against Ole Miss and needs one to become the 21st player in LSU history with 100.

PREDICTION: LSU 86, South Carolina 81