An SEC Saturday evening battle will be an intriguing one, to say the least as the LSU Tigers head east to Alabama to take on the Auburn Tigers. Join us for our College Basketball odds series where our LSU-Auburn prediction and pick will be revealed.

It certainly hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns for the LSU basketball program this far this season, but the Tigers are at least coming off wins in their first two SEC showdown and sit with a perfect 2-0 record in conference play. Overall, LSU is 10-5 and still has hopes of punching their ticket to the Big Dance come March.

On the other side of things, the 16th-ranked Auburn Tigers have another SEC-contending squad at their disposal under head coach Bruce Pearl. Currently possessing a 13-2 record, including being fresh off an eleven-point win over the Texas A&M Aggies, it once again appears that the Tigers are no joke when comparing them to the cream of the crop of the SEC.

Here are the LSU-Auburn college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Basketball Odds: LSU-Auburn Odds

LSU: +15.5 (-110)

Moneyline: +980

Auburn: -15.5 (-110)

Moneyline: -2000

Over: 150.5 (-110)

Under: 150.5 (-110)

How to Watch LSU vs. Auburn

Time: 6:00 ET/3:00 PT

TV: SEC Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why LSU Will Cover The Spread

Although LSU is capable of hitting shots at a consistent rate from time to time, the most feared part of this team happens to be in the form of a ferocious defense that can get after it. Over the course of their last four games combined, LSU has held their opposition to under 70 points. While the saying is that defenses win championships, it is often more true than not. Even though this Tigers team has a long way to go before they are considered among the top teams in the nation, it is a great start for LSU in their pursuit of being taken more seriously.

Not to mention, but LSU knows how to put the clamps on opposing shooters. Along with tremendous close-out skills, teams who attempt to shoot the basketball from the floor connect only a lowly 37% of the time which is the sixth-best mark in the sport. To make matters even more favorable for the Tigers, they also happen to force 13.9 turnovers per game as well. At the end of the day, this feisty Tigers defense is the bread and butter and overall foundation of this basketball team.

The secret ingredient to LSU covering the spread and possibly even winning will happen to be finding ways to crash the boards after misses and preventing Auburn with plenty of second-chance points. Alas, winning the rebounding battle will help LSU to play at their pace while also creating opportunities for an offense that averages only 76.2 points per game. Furthermore, LSU isn't a three-point shooting team by any means, so establishing the paint and winning the war in the rebounding department could be key.

Why Auburn Will Cover The Spread

At first glance, Auburn is definitely the heavy favorite in this one. However, the game still needs to be played, and if the Tigers spend any time overlooking their SEC counterparts, then eluding a devastating loss on their home hardwood may be even more challenging than they first imagined.

To begin, Auburn may have shot only 39% from the floor in their win over Texas A&M, but it was the defense that came up clutch when it mattered most. As a matter of fact, the Aggies barely had any room to breathe has they finished the day shooting an underwhelming 15% from deep and 29% overall. While it is hard to imagine that LSU will shoot as poorly as Texas A&M did in this one, using the same formula for success on defense will be an obvious talking point for Bruce Pearl and his staff.

Alas, even if shots aren't falling like they usually are for an Auburn squad that averages a whopping 83.5 points per game, getting to the free-throw line more often than not has been one of the team's specialties of late. Against the Aggies last time out, it was Auburn that absolutely abused Texas A&M by slashing to the cup and forcing them in foul trouble. By the time the clock had hit triple zeroes, the Tigers had reached the charity stripe on 26 attempts. Clearly, the physical of this SEC showdown could be the narrative of this game, so there's no question that Auburn will want to win the battle at the free-throw line in an attempt to cause major issues for LSU.

Final LSU-Auburn Prediction & Pick

Expect a grind-it-out, low-scoring game in this one! Despite being at home, covering a 15.5-point spread is difficult no matter who you are facing off against. While Auburn may come out with a triumphant victory in this one, they won't walk out of Neville Arena without LSU giving them a serious run for their money. Plus, let's not forget LSU has been streaking lately!

Final LSU-Auburn Prediction & Pick: LSU +15.5 (-110)