Two of the top players in the country face each other when Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners visit Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers on Saturday in what should be the most entertaining matchup in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Simmons may be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft, but Hield has the Sooners ranked No. 1 in the country.
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HOW THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Oklahoma’s No. 1 ranking was never in jeopardy Tuesday night as the Sooners waltzed past Texas Tech 91-67 at home behind Hield’s 30 points. The nation’s No. 2 scorer made 9 of 12 shots, including 5 of 8 three-point attempts for his seventh game with 30 or more points this season.
Scoring hasn’t been much of an issue for the Sooners, who are fourth nationally with 85.8 points per game with four starters averaging in double figures. And this one figures to be a track meet. OU’s ability to hit the three-point shot – they lead the nation in three-point percentage – will put a lot of pressure on the Tigers to keep up and LSU isn’t nearly adept in that part of the game.
They will have their hands full trying to stop Simmons, however. And that task will likely fall to Ryan Spangler, who showed more of his aggressive self Tuesday, being active on the floor while he continues recovering from a minor knee injury. The Sooners will also switch defenders to give Simmons different looks. They won’t shut him down, but making him work for everything will certainly take a toll.
HOW THE LSU TIGERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
After a rugged start to the season, LSU has put the pieces together, won four of its last five games, and climbed into a second place tie in the SEC. The biggest piece is Simmons, who collected his 15th double-double of the season with 22 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Georgia.
At 6-foot-10 with the agility of a point guard, Simmons poses a mismatch for an Oklahoma team that doesn’t have quite as long or athletic of a forward on its roster. And Simmons, who has spent most of the season demonstrating he’s a perimeter player that rarely wanders to the low post, changed things up Tuesday. He eagerly started the game down low, scoring six early points with strong moves to the basket and aggressively established post position, giving opposing defenders one more thing to worry about when trying to slow him down.
It would be a shame if Simmons wasn’t on display during the NCAA tournament, but the Tigers are making strides to make sure that doesn’t happen. Their four-point win over Georgia is joined by a pair of two-point wins sandwiched around a 14-point loss to No. 5 Texas AM. LSU is doing just enough right to win games, cleaning up some of their flaws such as improved transition defense and vastly improved ball movement.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
With two of the top college basketball players on display it should be a fun game to watch. Oklahoma is the top-ranked team in the country and LSU is unranked for a reason – the Sooners are a much better squad. While Hield gets most of the accolades, and deservedly so, OU is a well rounded group that spreads the ball around and plays defense. The Sooners blocked 14 shots and held Texas Tech to 32 percent shooting Tuesday. Khadeem Lattin was a force in the middle with eight blocks while altering several more. That kind of play is what separates Oklahoma from LSU. The Tigers just don’t have that kind of presence in the middle on defense. Hield and Simmons will do what they do, but OU’s supporting cast of Isaiah Cousins, Jordan Woodard, Spangler and Lattin will do more than LSU’s.
Oklahoma 91, LSU 80
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