Arkansas vs LSU 3/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The LSU Tigers & 15^th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks will square off at Amalie Arena this Friday afternoon in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

The 5-seed LSU Tigers improved to 22-10 on the season after defeating the 12-seed Missouri Tigers, 76-68, on Thursday. LSU led by a 39-23 margin at halftime and was able to pull away in the 2^nd half after taking a 57-35 lead with 9:10 left in regulation. LSU shot 56.0% from the field & 26.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Missouri to shoot 41.8% from the field & 36.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Tigers was Tari Eason who 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, & 2 blocks.

Coming into their game against Missouri, LSU was averaging 73.2 ppg on 43.9% from the field. The Tigers were averaging 6.7 three-pointers per game on 32.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, LSU has been led by Tari Eason (16.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.1 bpg), Darius Days (13.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 spg), Xavier Pinson (10.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.9 spg), & Brandon Murray (10.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg).

Defensively, prior to their game against the Tigers, LSU was holding their opponents to an average of 62.9 ppg on 38.4% shooting from the field. The Tigers had a rebound margin of 2.8 and a turnover margin of 3.5.

The 15^th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks finished their regular season with an overall record of 24-7 and earned the 4-seed in the SEC Tournament after finishing conference play with a 13-5 record. Arkansas finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 11-2 record with their best wins coming against Northern Iowa, Cincinnati, & Kansas State. Arkansas got off to a allow start to SEC play, dropping their first 3 games of the season, however, Arkansas was incredible throughout the 2^nd half of their season as they come into the SEC Tournament winning 14 of their last 16 games with home wins over Auburn, Tennessee, & Kentucky.

On the season, Arkansas is averaging 77.3 ppg on 44.0% shooting from the field. The Razorbacks are averaging 6.5 three-pointers per game on 31.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Arkansas has been led by JD Notae (18.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.2 spg), Stanley Umude (11.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.1 spg), Jaylin Williams (10.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.2 bpg), & Au’Diese Toney (10.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg). Arkansas will be without Au’Diese Toney due to a foot injury.

Defensively, Arkansas is allowing their opponents to average 68.2 ppg on 40.9% shooting from the field. The Razorbacks have a rebound margin of 3.8 and a turnover margin of 2.7.

The Tigers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 neutral site games & 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games. The Razorbacks are 10-1-1 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS win & 13-2-1 in their last 16 games overall.

Arkansas defeated LSU in both of their regular season matchups this season as the Razorbacks defeated the Tigers by a 65-58 margin on the road in mid-January and by a 77-76 margin at home in early March.

LSU has been led by their defense this season as the Tigers rank 26^th in scoring defense & 8^th in defensive FG%, however, the Tigers offense has struggled a bit in terms of their shooting as they come into this matchup ranked just 194^th in FG% & 253^rd in 3P-FG%. Arkansas has been solid on both ends of the court this season as the Razorbacks come into this game ranked t-41^st in scoring offense, 47^th in defensive FG%, & 43^rd in turnover margin. LSU has been great on a neutral court this season, however, this is still at team that just went 2-8 on the road and as Arkansas is just a better team on both ends of the court in my opinion, I think the Razorbacks do enough in this one to cover this small spread. Good Luck!