It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an LSU-Oklahoma prediction and pick. Find out how to watch LSU-Oklahoma.
The big slate of conference college basketball on Saturday includes this game in the SEC, which is a must-win for Porter Moser and his Oklahoma Sooners. For the second straight season, Oklahoma basketball has dominated the nonconference portion of its schedule and then gotten shredded in conference play. Oklahoma is therefore on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and the team has been going in the wrong direction for several weeks. The Sooners have to stabilize and grab at least a few decent wins before Selection Sunday.
Moser, who made the 2018 Final Four with Loyola Chicago, has still not taken Oklahoma to the NCAA Tournament. He badly needs to get in this year. Oklahoma was one of the first two teams out last season, as a late slide plus some surprising automatic bids left OU on the outside. It would be crushing for Moser and his OU tenure if he doesn't make March Madness this year. OU has to be able to beat a below-average LSU team at home if it wants to have any chance of making the Big Dance.
LSU: +8.5 (-112)
Moneyline: +290
Oklahoma: -8.5 (-108)
Moneyline: -375
Over: 150.5 (-112)
Under: 150.5 (-108)
Time: 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT
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TV: SEC Network
It's weird. Oklahoma was so resourceful, successful, and clutch in November and December. As soon as the calendar turned to January, the team stopped making big plays late in close games. Sure, the SEC is a tough conference, but Oklahoma was playing tough teams in the nonconference part of the schedule as well. OU was very ballsy, tough, and resilient in wins over Michigan, Arizona, and Louisville, all good teams which will be in the NCAA Tournament. Why the Sooners aren't able to be similarly tough against SEC teams is partly a product of the SEC being good, but it's also a product of OU simply losing confidence. The Sooners have been hammered by good teams, and they play close games against so-so teams. With the spread being 8.5 points, there's a good chance LSU can stay close enough to cover the number.
The LSU Tigers were 8.5-point road underdogs against Arkansas a few nights ago and failed to cover, losing 70-58. This team gave Ole Miss a scare this past Saturday but came up short in a wrenching, close loss. That defeat seemed to take some of the starch out of LSU in the Arkansas game. If the Tigers don't get that starch back, Oklahoma will torch them here. OU knows it has to start games well instead of snoozing in the first 10 minutes and falling behind. The Sooners are in a must-win position and figure to play with the requisite amount of desperation needed to not only win, but cover.
Our lean is to LSU because the spread seems a little large for a struggling Oklahoma side. However, LSU didn't cover against Oklahoma, so we're not going to recommend you take the Tigers. We think you should stay away from this game instead.
