An SEC showdown is sure to not disappoint as the LSU Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa for a matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Let's check out our college basketball odds series where our LSU-Alabama prediction and pick will be unveiled.

LSU enters the weekend with three losses in their last four games. The wheels are quickly falling off in Baton Rouge as the Tigers sit with an 11-8 record and are a dead-even 3-3 in conference play. With the calendar quickly approaching February, LSU needs to desperately make a push in order to return to relevance in the national landscape.

Meanwhile, Alabama is coming off one of their biggest wins of the season over arch-in-state rival Auburn and certainly are trending towards being a tournament team come March. As it stands, Alabama has been victorious in seven of their last eight games and own a 13-6 record to go along with an elite 5-1 mark in conference play.

Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Basketball Odds: LSU-Alabama Odds

LSU: +12.5 (-102)

Moneyline: +660

Alabama: -12.5 (-120)

Moneyline: -1050

Over: 160.5 (-115)

Under: 160.5 (-105)

How to Watch LSU vs. Alabama 

Time: 8:00 ET/5:00 PT

TV: ESPN

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why LSU Will Cover The Spread/Win

For starters, if there is anything encouraging to take away if you're the Tigers, at least their last two losses have come in narrow fashion. Yes. this doesn't make the losing pill any easier to swallow, but LSU isn't that far off from where they want to be. However, the difference in making the NCAA Tournament and not is ever so slim, and there is no question that the Tigers are behind the eight-ball. Rather sooner than later, LSU needs to start stacking up some victories.

The first order of business that needs to be conducted if the Tigers are going to come away with a spread-covering victory, LSU will need to make it a priority to use their overall length in the starting lineup to their advantage. Indeed, the Tigers start three forwards and can be a matchup nightmare against smaller teams. While LSU would want nothing more to get this game over with so that they can return home to Baton Rouge after partaking on a lengthy road trip, the Tigers could put the absolute icing on the cake by getting off to a hot start and holding the lead. It will be important to keep tabs on guards Jalen Cook and Jordan Wright who not only are LSU's leading scorers, but can also get extremely hot from the floor in the blink of an eye.

Why Alabama Will Cover The Spread/Win

From top to bottom, Alabama is proving that they are the complete package. Not afraid to push the pace as they possess the 22nd-most possessions per game in the nation, the Crimson Tide certainly don't spend any extra time going for the jugular.

In addition to Alabama making an effort to perfect their own pace so that they can tire out LSU in the closing moments, this is an offense that can get the job done at any given time. Heading into Saturday, the Crimson Tide are averaging the fourth-most points in the league with 88.6. Even when other teams and their offenses are having hot shooting nights, it takes a gargantuan effort to overcome the number of points that the Crimson Tide can put up on the scoreboard.

By the off-chance that the Crimson Tide aren't connecting on the shot attempts they usually make in their sleep, Alabama will need to find ways to have an aggressive approach offensively. Indeed, this includes earning trips to the free-throw line at a frequent rate. With that being said, Alabama does happen to be attempting 23.5 free throws a game and are shooting a lofty 78.5 percent from the charity stripe altogether. In facing LSU and their elite length, this matchup may play out in a bruising and battering fashion.

Furthermore, Alabama is already extremely battle-tested with the second-toughest schedule up to this point. Consider this an important element of this game when Alabama is faced with adversity at any point.

Final LSU-Alabama Prediction & Pick

Shockingly, Alabama is not ranked, but it should be expected to see their names on the AP Top 25 starting next week with a home win over LSU. As a whole, the Crimson Tide don't appear to be slowing down any time soon and will have an answer for whatever the Tigers throw at them this weekend.

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Final LSU-Alabama Prediction & Pick: Alabama -12.5 (-120)