GAMETHREAD: LSU vs. Mizzou, 8pm, ESPN

Keith Hornsby spoke to the press Monday saying, "L-S-U are three letters that have really defined who I am." He went on to say it was one of the best decisions of his life to come here. The LSU senior guard is out of the lineup Tuesday for the team's Senior Night game against Missouri at 8:00 PM CST on ESPN. "I'm feeling better, but it still nags quite a bit," he said of his sports hernia injury.

Even though he is sitting out, he is still the vocal leader of the team after recently asking his teammates, "Where's the your pride in the uniform you have on?" He also was reported to be screaming at his teammates and amping them up during a timeout in their last game against Florida.

Fellow senior Josh Gray and the rest of the team will look to rally around Hornsby as they look to improve the series record of 3-2 against the Tigers from Columbia, who are 10-19 overall and 3-and-13 in league play. If history is any indication, the home team has won every game of the series with LSU winning the lone game on a neutral court. A season ago it was LSU losing in overtime on the road 74-67.

According to ZOUNOTES,

"Sophomore guard Tramaine Isabell scored a career-high 17 points for the 2nd-straight game and senior forward Ryan Rosburg added 15 points in the Tigers’ latest game vs. Texas A&M (Feb. 27). Freshman forward Kevin Puryear leads Mizzou with his 11.4 and 11.1 respective scoring averages in overall and conference games."

And according to ZOUSTATS, "Senior forward Ryan Rosburg has averaged 15.9 points per game in Mizzou’s last seven games, which included a career-high 24 points at Vanderbilt (Feb. 10). Freshman forward Kevin Puryear ranks second in the SEC for his free throw percentage in conference games, hitting on 86.2 percent of his attempts (56-of-65). Additionally, sophomore guard Namon Wright is 8th with his 80.0-percent success rate (48-of-60)."

Gray and company will also look to rally around Hornsby as it looks to climb the league standings as the Tigers from Baton Rouge are currently sitting at 17-12 overall, 10-6 in the league, and a game out of first play with a game to play. They will close out the regular season Saturday in Lexington against the Kentucky Wildcats before heading down I-65 to the SEC Tournament beginning March 9.