The final week is here. Only two games separate the LSU men’s basketball team from the finish line of the regular season. It’s been a rough road. The Tigers have sputtered their way to a dismal 1-13 conference record, but they have two more chances at another victory. The next chance will be tonight in Oxford, Miss., as LSU (10-18, 1-13) faces Ole Miss (19-9, 7-7) for the second time this season. The Tigers suffered a 73-63 home loss to the Rebels on Jan. 23. “We’re winding down the stretch here,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “We’ll go to Ole Miss and play a basketball team that, according to experts, is on the bubble. I don’t think they’re a bubble team.”LSU heads into Thursday’s contest after a disappointing showing on the road against Auburn on Saturday, a 74-59 loss in Auburn, Ala. Senior guard Tay Waller blitzed LSU to the tune of 26 points, while fellow seniors guard DeWayne Reed and forward Lucas Hargrove helped thwart any comeback attempt by LSU. “We shot the ball well,” Johnson said. “We just had a hard time when they’re shooting it. Waller, Reed and Hargrove really stretch you.”A big problem for LSU against Auburn was the disappearance of senior forward Tasmin Mitchell. Mitchell only managed six points and fouled out with a little more than nine minutes to play in the contest. Mitchell’s absence, while troubling, provided a possible glimpse of the future. “It was a bad thing that Tasmin fouled out, but it was kind of a good thing, so we could see what we’re going to be working with next year a little bit,” said junior guard Bo Spencer. “It was nice to see the people we had out there can compete with the caliber of teams in the SEC. We’re so young, but we did a pretty decent job.” The Rebels pose a challenge similar to Auburn. Junior guard Chris Warren, sophomore guard Terrico White and junior guard Eniel Polynice cause some of the same problems as Auburn’s backcourt did. LSU held White, who Johnson calls a “bona fide pro,” scoreless for most of the game in the team’s first meeting. White finished with one point on 0-of-4 field goals. Warren and Polynice were a different story. Each scored 14 points with sophomore forward Terrance Henry adding 14 points. Looming after LSU’s foray into Oxford is Saturday’s game against Georgia, which is Mitchell’s final home game in purple and gold. Mitchell will leave LSU as the school’s all-time leader in minutes played and also has the opportunity to pass the 2,000-point mark in his career as a Tiger.Mitchell is 52 points away with three definite games left on the schedule — Thursday’s game against Ole Miss, Saturday’s game against Georgia and at least one SEC tournament game. He would need average 17.3 points per game during those contests to reach the mark. “Make no mistake about it,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be an emotional week … I’ve seen a share of players play over my career as a coach, player and assistant coach, and being a historian as to how I study the game, make no mistake about it: Tasmin is probably one of the better players here when we start talking about a basketball player and not a great athlete who plays basketball or vice versa.” Mitchell, while wistful about his time in Baton Rouge coming to a close, is focused on finishing the season well. “My mentality is to finish strong,” Mitchell said. “I’m going to try and go out there and play so I can say I gave it my all in my last couple of games here as a Tiger. I want to go out with a bang.” —–Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]