Southeastern foes will collide when the Tennessee Volunteers (12-14) challenge the LSU Tigers (16-10) at Thompson-Boling Arena. Action begins at 5:30 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 20 and can be seen on ESU and ES3.
The Volunteers are hoping to rebound after their 80-70 loss to Kentucky on Thursday. Despite the loss, Armani Moore earned his fourth double-double this season with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Tigers, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 76-69 loss against Alabama on Wednesday. Craig Victor had a team-high 21 points.
The Volunteers have gone 12-14 Straight Up (SU) and 13-11-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Volunteers are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .736 from the free throw line. Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for Tennessee in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 12.8 offensive boards per game. Turning to the defensive side, opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Volunteers, ranking 43rd in the country in blocks per game with 4.9.
As for their opponent, the Tigers are unsuccessful ATS with a 9-16 record even though they have a 16-10 SU record. Offensively, they average 80.7 points per game, which is good for 25th in the country. The Tigers are an unselfish team with an average of 16.2 assists per game, ranking 29th in Division I. Shifting to the other side of the court, the Tigers are a terror in the passing lanes, averaging an impressive 7.8 steals per game.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Tennessee won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record to 8-2 over LSU in their most recent meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. In these last five matchups, Tennessee held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, with LSU controlling all three of these areas one time.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tenn, ATS Winner – Tenn
Notes
“Tennessee is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Tennessee’s last 8 games “.
“Tennessee is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.
“Tennessee is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tennessee’s last 6 games at home”.
“Tennessee is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing LSU”.
“Tennessee is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing LSU”.
“Tennessee is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against LSU”.
“Tennessee is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against LSU”.
LSU sits at 9-4 SU against the conference, while Tennessee is 5-8 SU.
LSU is one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 80.7 points per game (ranked 25th). Tennessee, on the other hand, allows 75.2 points per game (ranked 208th).
LSU scores 75.2 points per away game (ranked 53rd). Tennessee ranks a poor 199th in points allowed at home, allowing 72.6 points.
With 70.8 possessions and 1.077 points per possession, the Tennessee Volunteers perform worse on both metrics than the LSU Tigers. LSU averages 72.6 possessions and 1.111 points per possession.
Tennessee has an average effective field goal percentage of 47.5%. LSU is a winning 10-6 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Tennessee Volunteers attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the LSU Tigers attempt 18.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, both teams have losing records; Tennessee is 7-12 and LSU is 4-8.
Tennessee ranks 83rd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.22, while LSU ranks 39th with an A/TO of 1.37.
Tennessee and LSU are tied at 76th with 38.4 rebounds per game.
Tennessee records 5.6 steals per game. LSU is 11-9 when giving up at least 5 steals.
