No. 17 Missouri at LSU

•  WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La.

•  TV/RADIO: KSMO (Ch. 62); KMBZ (980 AM, 98.1 FM)

•  ABOUT MISSOURI (15-4, 4-2 SEC): The Tigers looked terrific in a convincing 81-59 home win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday, when they blew away the Commodores behind the strength of 11 three-pointers, stingy defense and a 40-18 rebounding advantage. … Missouri will need to show the same efficiency against LSU if it hopes to win its first SEC road game. The Tigers lost their first two conference road games by a combined 46 points.

•  ABOUT LSU (10-7, 1-5 SEC): LSU has struggled in SEC play, winning only one of its first six games. But that victory came last Wednesday at home over Texas A&M on and LSU also came close to beating a talented Kentucky team on the road on Saturday. … Missouri coach Frank Haith is rightly concerned with LSU’s defense, which is led on the perimeter by sophomore guard Anthony Hickey, who leads the nation with 3.8 steals per game.

•  BOTTOM LINE: The Tigers figure to get an emotional boost if senior forward Laurence Bowers returns after missing the last five games because of a sprained right knee ligament. The Tigers have looked out of sorts on the road this season, often settling for poor shots and losing their composure. Bowers can be a steadying influence, even in limited minutes, and LSU isn’t as good as Florida or Mississippi, the two teams that blew MU out on the road this season. If Missouri puts an emphasis on protecting the basketball, the Tigers have a good chance to escape Baton Rouge with a victory.