The No. 3 seeded LSU men’s basketball team will be facing the No.6 Ole Miss Rebels in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament Friday, March 12 at 8:30 PM CT. During the regular season, the Tigers took care of business against the Rebels, defeating them by 14 points in a 75-61 contest.

Ole Miss is riding into this quarterfinals matchup holding onto wins in their last four of five matchups. So far in the SEC tournament the Rebels have beaten Vanderbilt and Missouri to get to this quarter finals contest against the Tigers.

After LSU defeated Missouri in the season finale, Head Coach Will Wade made it known the importance of what it means for this program to advance in the SEC tournament. The Tigers have not had the best of luck in recent years in the tournament, but Wade expects this purple and gold squad will change the course of history.

The road to be crowned kings of the SEC starts with Ole Miss. If the Tigers are able to move on after Friday night they will be matched up against the winner between Arkansas and Missouri. Everyone would agree that if LSU is able to make it to the SEC championship they will be met by their rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama finished the regular season with a 22-6 and record, with only two losses coming during conference play. In both contests against LSU the closest margin of defeat for the Tigers was by 18 points.

If Will Wade and the Tigers want to change the course of history it will have to come by an upset defeat in the SEC championship against Alabama. For the time being, LSU needs to focus on the task at hand, which is defeating the Rebels.