The LSU Tigers (11-5 overall, 6-3 SEC) visit the Alabama Crimson Tide (14-4, 9-0) Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ET tussle at Coleman Coliseum, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Below, we analyze the LSU-Alabama college basketball odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Alabama is No. 7 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
LSU at Alabama: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:15 a.m. ET.
- Money line: LSU +333 (bet $100 to win $333) | Alabama -450 (bet $450 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: LSU +8.5 (-110) | Alabama -8.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 163.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
LSU at Alabama: Three things to know
- LSU (82.9 points per game) and Alabama (79.9 PPG) rank second and third, respectively, in SEC scoring. Beginning with a 105-75 loss to the Crimson Tide Jan. 19, the Tigers have shot just 41.2% from the floor in their last four games while averaging nearly 10 fewer points than their season average. LSU has gone 1-3 in that stretch.
- Alabama lost a 66-61 in a non-conference game at Oklahoma Saturday. The loss snapped a 10-game win streak for the Tide. UA was a minus-4 in turnover margin after being on the plus side of the ledger in six of its previous seven games. Alabama has forced an impressive 15 turnovers per game for the season.
- Both sides have a key injury. LSU is without F Darius Days (12.1 points, 7.9 rebounds per game). Alabama is without F Jordan Bruner (7.8, 5.3). The 6-foot-10 Bruner has also logged 1.2 blocks per game and is a force in Alabama’s interior defensive scheme.
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LSU at Alabama: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Alabama 85, LSU 73
Money line (ML)
Look for Alabama to be on the warpath after its loss to Oklahoma. The factor most likely to be overlooked in the Tide’s advantage here is their defense. The turnover transition game is a monster plus for ‘Bama and a big minus for LSU.
Still, the price here offers no value: PASS.
Against the spread (ATS)
The favorite is 19-6-1 over the last 26 games in this ancient SEC series and the favorite for this one is a solid play to cover by double digits. BACK THE CRIMSON TIDE -8.5 (-110).
Over/Under (O/U)
Various analytic measures peg both LSU and Alabama as two of the higher-tempo teams in NCAA-I. ‘Bama, in fact, figures as a top-20 unit in possessions per game.
The lofty possession numbers on both sides were logged in non-conference play. Those possession numbers, along with the Tide’s 72.8% effective field-goal rate in the 105-75 score Jan. 19, are overbaked into tonight’s number. BACK THE UNDER 163.5 (-110).
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