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The LSU Tigers have effectively played themselves out of the NCAA Tournament discussion, and they know they really only have themselves to blame for horrid basketball on both sides of the court against mediocre teams. However, on a weak bubble, there's still time to get back in the swing of things. It's probably going to take a huge run next week in the SEC Tournament regardless, but finishing off the season sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats could go a long ways towards fixing past sins.
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HOW THE LSU TIGERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Is it rough to say that LSU just has to start caring a little more? The Tigers have more or less admitted they haven't been at their best, and it showed against Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas in three straight dismal efforts. However, with their backs up against the wall and Florida coming to town, the Bayou Bengals finally looked like themselves over the weekend in a 96-91 victory.
You'd like to think that some of the vets would step up here and help out Ben Simmons, but the key man might be Antonio Blakeney. The frosh is the one man who has really consistently been showing some heart out there even during this losing streak. He was rewarded with a 32-point game against Florida, and he might be the key man aside from Simmons in this game.
HOW THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Wildcats figured out how to slow down Simmons in the first meeting of the year, but there was so much attention paid to the future No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft that they forget about the rest of the guys on the floor. Tim Quarterman came up just three assists shy of a triple-double, while Craig Victor went off for 15 points and 12 boards.
Kentucky's problems of late have come in the paint, and this isn't the team you want to be facing if you're not playing well on the interior. If Simmons is allowed to more or less roam around on defense without the threat of having to get posted up by a legit interior scoring threat, his size and length can really cause problems for Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The SEC is a joke this season, and we're going to see yet another example of that on Saturday as we see it. We really think LSU is going to come to play and have a shot in this game down the stretch even though it's sure to be a relatively sizeable underdog, especially if it doesn't play well against Missouri midweek.
We just don't trust the Wildcats to come up with enough good play from the invisible Alex Poythress or the huge disappointment that is Skal Labissiere.
What we do trust though, is that teams which don't deserve to get into the NCAA Tournament often find ways to play themselves out of it. This feels like a game for 38 or so minutes that LSU can win. In the end though, it's all about guard play late in games in college basketball. Simmons can't do it all in tight games, and we have a feeling we'll see too many empty possessions down the stretch for LSU.
Bank on Ulis, Murray and Briscoe, who have been so darn good all season long for Kentucky, to come to the rescue once again down the stretch, but take the points with the Tigers.
Kentucky 79, LSU 75
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