Following a stretch of four away games in six outings, LSU is back in the PMAC for four of the final six games of the year with this week’s matchups with Florida and Tennessee potentially shaping the SEC title race.

The Tigers (21-4, 11-1) are currently tied for first place in the SEC after Tennessee’s blowout loss at Kentucky this past weekend and moved six slots to No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the Coaches Poll.

Wednesday’s matchup with Florida is the best definition of a “trap game” as the Gators are scrappy bunch that are first in the SEC in defensive efficiency and turnover percentage. The slow pace Florida plays at directly contradicts the LSU high-flying, up tempo offense and the coach Will Wade and the players know the challenge directly ahead of them.

“They like to slow the game down a ton,” guard Tremont Waters said. “They kind of just grind it out. Coach said that teams they play always end up playing into their style and ends up being a low scoring game. We just have to play our game and not let them dictate what we do.”

Waters added that the team can’t be loose with the ball as the Gators will make them pay on the offensive end with transition baskets.

“Getting back in transition is important because they’re a really good three point shooting team,” Waters said. “That’s our main goal, getting back, running great offense and just protecting the ball.”

Florida (14-11, 6-6) plays a 1-2-2 zone defense that Wade said LSU hasn’t faced but one time this season, a 97-91 win over UNC Greensboro the second game of the year.

“It takes a little time to prepare for, change up what you do,” Wade said. “Try to slow the game down and do a good job of attacking. It should be a good test for us, we can’t turn the ball over and get the ball on the backboard to give ourselves a shot.”

LSU will have to find a way to score from the perimeter as the Tigers are 13th in the SEC in 3-point percentage at 32.6 percent. In conference play, Florida is 3-0 when holding opposing teams to under 40 percent shooting from the outside and 3-6 when teams shoot over 40 percent from the 3-point line.

Freshman guard Javonte Smart is coming off a career high 19 points in the win over Georgia on Saturday night and went 3-for-4 from 3-point land. Smart was a heavy topic of conversation not only for his recent performance but also his on court demeanor.

Smart was called for a technical foul in the second half, one that sparked teammates and coaches alike. It was only the second time this season a LSU player had been called for a technical but Wade said he likes those kind of technicals because it gives the team that extra jolt needed in close games.

“We needed that extra edge,” Wade said. “Emmitt [Williams] brings it to our bug guys and Javonte brings it with our guards. He’s an absolute pitbull and I love that technical he got. It sent a message, got out team fired up and I thought it was a well timed point in the game to send that message.”

That attitude and toughness has started to rub off on other players including Waters, who is picking up some pointers from Smart on how to become an elite trash talker.

“He’s getting better but he’s not there yet,” Smart said. “We have a couple more games to go but the key to being a good trash talker is I have to be able to hear you. Once I hear you or somebody else hears you, it improves your skills.”

For Waters, this time last year he admitted that his body was wearing down as SEC play wore on because of the physicality within the conference. This year, Waters has improved his sleep habits, getting eight hours a night, limited his social media intake before games and has started drinking water every 45 minutes.

The regimen is something he worked on with strength coach Greg Goldin in the offseason and said his body feels completely different than it did during the latter part of conference play his freshman year.

“He gets on me about eating not huge plates of food but eat enough to where I’m not hungry anymore,” Waters said. “That was a big thing because I never wanted to eat after playing a game last year. So forcing myself to eat, drink water has made a big difference.”

With the spotlight now on the top-15 LSU basketball program, Waters said he has noticed the shift in attention the team has received but also knows it can go away quickly.

“I just try and tell my teammates and even my coaches to take it one day at a time,” Waters said. “I’m living in the moment because we remember last year wasn’t this feeling and if we want to keep feeling we have to focus on what we have to do. The hype can go away quick.”