College Basketball Preview: Alabama Crimson Tide Vs LSU Tigers
Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Lines: LSU -8.5
Total: 144
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Tonight in the SEC we will see the surging Alabama Crimson Tide travel to take on an LSU Tigers team that is tied atop the league standings. Alabama comes in off a solid 61-55 road win over Florida and they have now won their last four games in a row, while the Tigers come in off a 76-71 home win over Texas A&M and they have now won three of their last four games. LSU won the earlier matchup at Alabama this year by a 72-70 score.
Crimson Tide Upset Gators On The Road
Not only did the Tide upset the Gators on the road, but it was their first time in the last 12 meetings that they have beaten Florida. The Tide have now won their last four games in a row and are 6-6 in the SEC as of now. Alabama is likely on the outside as far as getting into the big Dance, but a win in this game would help them greatly, especially coming in off the road win over Florida and also topping Texas A&M as a part of their four game win streak. Retin Obasohan led the attack vs the Gators with 15 points, while pulling down seven boards as well. Also having a solid game was Jimmie Taylor, who had 11 points and four boards. Shannon Hale and Justin Coleman each had 10 points to round out the double digit scorers for the Tide.
The Tide had a solid game from beyond the arc (41.7%), but the key to this win was their defense that allowed the Gators to hit just 28.6% of their shots overall and just 14.3% from long range (3-21). The disturbing part for the tide was they they were crushed on the boards by a 48-29 count. This game could have been a blowout for the Tide had they had better results on the boards.This is not a good rebounding team though as they come in ranked 254th in the nation in rebounding percentage. Overall this is a strong defensive team that comes in ranked 68th in points allowed (67 ppg) and 31st in defensive FG% (39.8%). Leading the offense for the tide is Retin Obasohan, who averages 16 ppg, while Shannon Hale is the only other player that averages in double figures, putting up 11.2 ppg. This is not really a good offensive team as they come in ranked 294th in scoring (67.4 ppg) and 247th in shooting (42.7%), while from the charity stripe they are 317th, hitting just 65% of their FTs.
Simmons Leads LSU To Win Over Aggies
The LSU Tigers are having quite a year as they are currently tied with Kentucky for first place in the SEC at 9-3. A big part of that has been the play of their sensational freshman Ben Simmons, who will probably be off to the NBA after this season is over. Simmons has done it all this year as evidenced by the fact that he leads the team in every major category. He averages 19.3 ppg, hits 56.3% of his shots and also pulls down 12 boards a game. He also hands out 5.2 assists per game and has 47 steals on the year. There may not be a more versatile player in the nation. On Saturday the LSU Tigers entertained Texas A&M at home and won the game 76-71. Simmons had 16 points and 11 boards in the game, along with seven assists and three steals. Just another day at the office for him Also having a solid game was Craig Victor, who had 16 points and Keith Hornsby, who had 15 points.
The Tigers didn’t have a great shooting game, especially from long range where they hit just 27.8% of their shots (5-18), while the Aggies hit 55% of their shots overall and were 7-20 from long range (35%), but the Tigers won the turnover battle 19-9 and that was the difference in the game. The Tigers have been a strong offensive team this year and they go about nine deep with all nine putting up at least 4.2 ppg and five of those players have averaged in double figures. LSU checks in at 23rd in the nation in scoring (81.1 ppg) and 38th in shooting overall (47.4%), but they are also just 210th from long range (33.9%) and 281st at the charity stripe (66.7%) Thed defensive end of the floor is where the Tigers struggle as they come in ranked 278th in points allowed (76 ppg), 221st in defensive FG% overall (44.1%) and 211th ion three-point defense (35%).
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Free College Basketball Play
[749] Alabama +8.5 over LSU
Earlier this year Duke played a 95-91 game vs Notre Dame and this one has the feel of that game. This one also has the feel of OT, but I don’t think we will need it here. Both of these teams play uptempo and both are in the top 20 in the nation in scoring. Duke has struggled on defense this year and while the Heels have played decent defense, their weakness at that end of the floor (defending the three) is the strength of the Duke offense. I can see a lot of threes going in for Duke here, while Carolina’’s uptempo pace will help them score plenty vs this down Duke defense. This one should be a lot of fun so sit back and enjoy.
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