The Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. Here’s an LSU vs Alabama prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best LSU vs Alabama pick.
Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview
Alabama managed to win 11 of their first 14 games this season. After that came losses to Vanderbilt and Texas in the next two matchups. The Crimson Tide would get wins in three of the next five versus Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Missouri, then won four straight over Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss and South Carolina. In the first 25 games that would give the Crimson Tide an 18-7 record.
In game 26 on Wednesday versus Arkansas, the Tide were in trouble at halftime, sporting a 57-47 deficit. Alabama managed to come back on a 48-38 run in the second and forced overtime. After two extra periods, Alabama ended up with a hard-fought 117-115 victory in the end. Tops in scoring was Labaron Philon with 35 points and seven assists, while Aiden Sherrell (26 points; 13 rebounds) and Amari Allen (19 points; 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
LSU Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the LSU side, they took a lone loss to Texas Tech in their first 13 games this year. Next came a losing run versus Texas A&M, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi State over the next eight. After a win over South Carolina came losses to Georgia Arkansas and Tennessee in the next three, giving the Tigers a 14-11 record in their first 25 outings.
Matched up against Texas on Tuesday the Tigers were demolished in the first half 48-33. LSU came back in the second half and made a game of it on a 52-40 run but it wasn’t enough in an eventual loss on the road by a margin of 88-85. Max Mackinnon led the team on 27 points with three assists and two rebounds while Marquel Sutton had 21 points with five rebounds.
Why the LSU Tigers will win
- LSU has won eight of its last nine home games when playing with a rest advantage.
- Alabama has lost each of its last three road games following an overtime win.
- Alabama has lost the first half in four of its last five day games against Conference opponents.
Why the Alabama Crimson Tide will win
- Alabama has won each of its last 24 day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- LSU has lost each of its last 15 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- Alabama has won the first half in each of its last six day games against LSU.
LSU vs Alabama Prediction
I’ll lean toward Alabama. The Tide were able to eke out a tight double-overtime victory on their home court versus a pesky Arkansas team this week, but it didn’t come easily. Alabama shot a very nice 56.3 percent from the field with a 40-34 edge on the boards and a 58-46 advantage in the paint. The Tide gave up 49.4 percent shooting on defense overall and 50 percent from 3-point range, though. That makes five straight wins for the Tide, with 89 or more points scored in all of those.
As for LSU, they shot well (51.6 percent) in their loss to Texas this week, but also gave up 55.8 percent from the field and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from 3-point range. The Tigers were out-rebounded 33-22 but only had five turnovers in a pretty disciplined ball-control game. LSU is just 1-7 in their last eight games and they’re sitting on a four-game losing streak. The Tigers have only really been competitive in one of those four defeats as well.