The SEC isn't the greatest conference in the country, but when the LSU Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats, it'll be can't miss viewing for college hoops fans simply due to the fact that the best player in America, Ben Simmons will try to take on what is perceived to be one of the best teams in the land.
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HOW THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
It's really simple. Shut down Simmons. The Wildcats are going to win this game by at least a dozen, even on the road if they're able to keep Simmons from exploding.
The Tigers might be averaging 84.2 points per game, but Simmons is accounting for almost a quarter of it. If he's held down, unlike in the SEC opener against Vandy when he scored 36 and had 14 boards, the Bayou Bengals probably won't have any answers.
On the other side of the court, Kentucky has to limit possessions and make this game drab. When it has gotten in trouble this season, it hasn't really buckled down defensively. Even that game against Louisville which was won, it wasn't until the defense stepped up and made some stops that the game became winnable.
We know that Tyler Ulis can run and would love to, but this isn't the game for that to happen. There has been a lot of attention paid to the Tigers' basketball team this year in Baton Rouge because of the presence of Simmons, and that's going to make this crowd as raucous as could be. The best way to keep the crowd out of it all is to slow the game down and not turn the ball over.
HOW THE LSU TIGERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The crowd is going to be the big factor here for the Tigers. They don't have the biggest following in the world, but thanks to Simmons, the campus is still buzzing with the hopes of getting into the NCAA Tournament.
We've seen Simmons take games over time and time again already in this, his freshman year. He literally leads the team in every major category, including scoring (20.5 PPG), rebounding (13.1 RPG), assists (5.4 APG), steals (2.1 SPG) and blocks (1.4 BPG).
However, Simmons is going to need some help in this one. He got 23 points from Keith Hornsby against Vandy in that big upset to kick off the SEC season, but that isn't going to be the norm. Hornsby, Antonio Blakeney and Tim Quarterman are all crucial, and they're going to have to play big if the Tigers are going to threaten Kentucky.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
We could certainly believe the Wildcats struggling in this game on the road, but we think their athletes are just tremendously superior to what LSU is going to bring to the table.
After the Tigers pulled off the upset of the Commodores, this spread is going to end up being a lot less than perhaps it should, especially with this being a primetime game on a night where there isn't a heck of a lot else going on.
We suspect John Calipari will come up with a plan to slow down Simmons, and if that turns out to be the case, we're not sure where the Tigers are going to go to get their offense. That’s when an otherwise close game could become a romp in a hurry.
Kentucky 85, LSU 68
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Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet. Click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The game between the Kentucky Wildcats and LSU Tigers will go down Tuesday, January 5, 2016, at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
