With two weeks left in the regular season, LSU is scrambling to avoid becoming the third straight defending national champion to miss the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers (31-18, 9-15) won two of three against then-No. 1 Texas A&M to take a giant step over the weekend, but they probably need to win four of their last six Southeastern Conference games to strengthen their status for an at-large bid.

LSU also could help itself with a good showing in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers are tied with Mississippi for the 12th and final spot in the conference tournament, two games ahead of Missouri.

“We’re still in the fight for a postseason bid,” coach Jay Johnson said, “and we’ve really improved over the last month. We’ve given ourselves a chance. In the last few weeks, we’ve put ourselves into the best position we possibly could to play postseason baseball. We’re just going to have to keep fighting.”