HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — LSU coach Paul Mainieri is a big fan of the drama that surrounds the opening day knockout round of the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament.

In a rare change, the Tigers will be part of it this year.

The storied LSU program has struggled this season — especially by its lofty standards — and is the No. 8 seed at this week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Tigers face No. 9 Mississippi State on Tuesday in what might be a must-win game for both teams’ NCAA Tournament chances.

Mainieri said his team must embrace the high stakes without feeling the pressure. LSU was the national runner-up last season and has made the College World Series in three of the past five seasons.

“It’ll be an exciting ballgame,” Mainieri said. “And that’s all we’re going to do — we’re going to play a baseball game. Nobody knows the postseason ramifications so I’m not even going to try to speculate.”

The SEC has used the opening day knockout round format since 2013 when the tournament expanded to 12 teams. The No. 5 through No. 12 seeds play a single-elimination game Tuesday and the winners advance to a double-elimination format that begins on Wednesday.

The other games on knockout Tuesday: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 10 Kentucky and No. 5 South Carolina vs. No. 12 Missouri. Kentucky and Texas A&M are among the programs in a similar position as LSU, teetering on the edge of an NCAA Tournament invitation.

The four teams automatically earning a spot in the double-elimination round are No. 1 seed Florida — which is the defending national champion — No. 2 Ole Miss, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Arkansas.

The tournament format goes back to a single-elimination format for Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s final. Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said seeding won’t matter much in Hoover.

Ole Miss will play its first game Tuesday against either Auburn or Kentucky.

“The truth is it feels like the league is loaded every year,” Bianco said. “If you don’t play well, you’ll lose. Everyone is good and everyone can beat you if you don’t play your best baseball.”

That point was hammered home for the Rebels (42-14) as the regular season wrapped up last weekend. They took two out of three from last-place Alabama, which was one of two teams that did not qualify for the tournament, and had to work hard to do it. The two wins came by scores of 3-2 in the opener and 10-8 in the finale.

The final spread between top-seeded Florida and No. 4 seed Arkansas was only two games. Only six of the 12 teams in the tournament finished above .500 in conference play and three more — Auburn, Mississippi State and LSU — were right at .500.

“Anybody can beat anybody in this conference. It’s crazy, because one game you play your best and then another game they play their best. It’s a war, and every game is a battle that you have to win to win the war. I think that perfectly describes this year. It was so even and so close that even winning the West we were tied with Arkansas and beat them head to head. It’s the greatest conference in the country,” Ole Miss outfielder Ryan Olenek said. “Even statistically the worst team in the SEC is still a better team than a lot of the country. It’s tough to win ballgames like that.”

Ole Miss has a lot to play for in Hoover, even though it seems assured of an NCAA Tournament berth. It enters the tournament ranked ninth in the NCAA’s RPI rankings, putting it right on the cutline for a top-eight national seed and potentially a home regional and super regional.

Olenek said the Rebels have tried not to think that far ahead.

“We’re just trying to win ballgames,” said Olenek, who leads the SEC with a .373 batting average. “You can’t look past a game or else you’ll get eaten alive. You’ve just got to win one game at a time. It’s tough to think ahead when you’ve got an SEC opponent ahead. Even if it’s practice you’ve got to say what can you do in practice to win a game tomorrow?”

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Vicksburg Post sports editor Ernest Bowker contributed to this report.

Southeastern Conference Tournament
At Hoover, Ala.
Single elimination
May 22
Game 1 – Vanderbilt vs. Texas A&M, 9:30 a.m.
Game 2 – Auburn vs. Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Game 3 – LSU vs. Mississippi St., 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 – South Carolina vs. Missouri, 8 p.m.
Double elimination
May 23
Game 5 – Georgia vs. Vandy-Texas A&M winner, 9:30 a.m.
Game 6 – Ole Miss vs. Auburn-Kentucky winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7 – Florida vs. LSU-Mississippi St. winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 – Arkansas vs. S. Carolina-Missouri winner, 8 p.m.
May 24
Game 9 – Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 9:30 a.m.
Game 10 – Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 11 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 12 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8 p.m.
May 25
Game 13 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 14 – Game 10 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 6:30 p.m.
Single elimination
May 26
Game 15 – Game 13 winner vs. Game 11 winner, Noon
Game 16 – G14 winner vs. G12 winner, 3:30 p.m.
May 27
Championship game, 2 p.m.