The Tennessee Volunteers take on the LSU Tigers. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Tennessee LSU prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Tennessee LSU.
The LSU Tigers are having a miserable season, one year after coach Will Wade was dismissed for running a wayward program. Wade won games, but he didn't conduct himself honorably, and now LSU is paying the price with a hollowed-out roster which is getting blitzed on a regular basis in the SEC. People will look at a 40-point loss to Alabama as the main indicator of LSU's decline, but that's probably not an accurate picture of the situation. Alabama is in line to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The real indicator of LSU's downfall is a pair of losses to mid-tier SEC teams. Texas A&M and Florida beat the Tigers by double-digit margins. That is something a Will Wade team simply would not have allowed. That's where it becomes apparent the Tigers do not have the horses to keep up with the rest of the SEC. Tennessee will provide a massive challenge to the Bayou Bengals in their latest SEC contest.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Tennessee-LSU College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Tennessee-LSU Odds
Tennessee Volunteers: -11.5 (-104)
LSU Tigers: +11.5 (-118)
Over: 131.5 (-105)
Under: 131.5 (-115)
How To Watch Tennessee vs. LSU
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET, 1:00 p.m. PT
*Watch Tennessee-LSU LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Tennessee Could Cover the Spread
The Vols are playing well. They had that one ugly game against Kentucky, but otherwise, they have looked very strong in conference play, winning road games by double-digit margins and getting after it at the defensive end of the floor. Even against Kentucky, their defense was strong, allowing only 63 points. The Vols have not allowed an opponent to score more than 68 points in any of their last five games. Coach Rick Barnes has a team which regularly provides great effort and simply does not get outworked. The Vols are not a perfect team, but their effort is consistently admirable, and that's the kind of thing which prevents upset losses against teams the Vols should handle relatively easily. Tennessee does not fall victim to complacency. That is exactly when — and how — a heavy favorite covers the spread on the road in a conference game.
We can't ignore what is happening at LSU, either. A first-year coach is inheriting a depleted roster at a program which got tagged for various violations. It's a situation conducive to a rock-bottom season and a complete collapse. This is what we're seeing from LSU. Even if the Tigers bounce back with a good game here, it's not as though there were any real signs of that happening. Based on evidence, you would not reasonably think LSU will play well in this game. That means Tennessee covers.
Why LSU Could Cover the Spread
The Tigers can't continue to be this bad, right? When a team plays a lot of bad games in a row, and morale gets lower, and frustrations boil over, at some point a team gets sick and tired of being sick and tired. It gets fed up with being kicked around and treated like a rag doll by opponents. LSU is going to come out of the locker room and deliver an inspired performance in this game. It won't be enough to win outright, but LSU can lose this game by 11 and still cover the spread. That's a lot of points for a home team in a conference game. LSU is going to put up a fight, and that will enable the Tigers to keep this game close and ultimately cover.
Final Tennessee-LSU Prediction & Pick
Tennessee should win outright, but the margin of victory is hard to pin down. Stay away from this one. There are better choices on a huge college basketball Saturday.
Final Tennessee-LSU Prediction & Pick: LSU +11.5
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