A turbulent start to conference play has LSU baseball entering playoff mode with a month left in the regular season.

The Tigers (26-16, 5-13 SEC), who were the preseason consensus top 2 team, fell out of rankings weeks ago and the scuffling to try and regain their footing has remained.

LSU dropped its first five SEC series this season before winning its first three-game set at Missouri this past weekend, taking two games out of three.

Jay Johnson's team carried that momentum over from Mizzou to a solid midweek victory at Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday night, shutting out Nicholls 9-0. The Colonels made the NCAA Tournament last season and were 98th in RPI heading into Tuesday's game. LSU bumped up three spots to No. 36 in the RPI with the victory.

"If you look at their numbers and look at the way they play on video, this is a good win tonight," Johnson said Tuesday. "They're playing good baseball and have a good winning percentage.

"We should get a bump in RPI which keeps us in it. That's what we're trying to do, stay in playoff baseball mode right now."

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LSU has another good opportunity — not only for RPI gains — when it hosts SEC West rival Auburn for a series this weekend. It is also trying to climb its way back up into the field for the SEC Tournament next month. Right now, LSU is one game out of the 12-team field, sitting at 13th with a 5-13 league record.

But are the Tigers in the NCAA tournament's field of 64 at this point? Let's take a look at regional projections for LSU:

Where is LSU baseball in D1 Baseball NCAA Tournament projections?

With a month left in the 2024 regular season, LSU is listed among the "First Four Out" distinction in D1 Baseball's latest NCAA Tournament projections. It's worth noting that D1's most recent projected field was released before LSU's series win at Mizzou last weekend.

The Tigers have wins over two teams that are projected to make the field ahead of them in the "Last Four In" category in Florida and Texas. Ole Miss is ahead of LSU in the First Four Out and the two will play a series later this season.

Where is LSU baseball in Baseball America NCAA Tournament projections?

Baseball America put out its most recent projections Wednesday morning. And LSU is nowhere to be found.

BA goes as far as to list a "Next Four Out" group and the Tigers aren't even among those four teams. Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, College of Charleston and Kansas are.

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LSU has a lot of ground to make up in Baseball America's eyes.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball NCAA Tournament projections: Where the Tigers stand