The No. 1 team in America will head out on the road to take on the No. 1 player in America on Saturday night as a part of the Big XII and SEC games played this weekend. Ben Simmons has accomplished a lot in his young career, but a win for the frosh for his LSU Tigers over the Oklahoma Sooners would go a long way to ensuring that the boys from the Bayou get a chance to performance in the madness of March.
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SCHEDULING
It's going to be tough for the oddsmakers to come up with a line on this game, and the schedule isn't going to help differentiate anything for live bettors either. LSU, a team which has consistently been overvalued by the oddsmakers in our eyes, is coming off of a win over Georgia at home and four days off in a row. Oklahoma had a relatively easy game against Texas Tech at home on Tuesday as well and will also have four days off.
KEY MATCHUP
You'd think that it's all about Simmons in this game, but we're a lot more afraid of what Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousin and Jordan Woodard might do in this game instead. These three guards are the reasons why the Sooners are ranked No. 1 in the land.
Oklahoma is shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc this season, easily the best mark in America, and we're really worried for an LSU defense which tends to check out at times. The Tigers love to run, but that gets them in trouble far too often.
This Georgia game was a perfect example. The Bulldogs scored 85 points and shot 50.8 percent from the field. However, they only went 6-of-23 from three-point land and missed nine free throws. Better three-point shooting would've led to them scoring close to 100, and they probably would've won the game.
With Hield, Cousins and Woodard having the ability to get easy shots in the paint and stroke it from deep, there has to be a real concern for LSU's live bettors. Points could come in bunches for the Sooners, and it'll be tough to predict when those runs are going to stop.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
LSU's defense had done a slightly better job in recent games before giving up 85 to UGA. The Tigers though, have allowed at least 67 points in all of their games since January 29, and they haven't conceded fewer than that against a Power Five team this season.
Oklahoma meanwhile, has scored at least 70 points in all but one game this year, and it has ticked the 80-point mark 14 times in 19 games. Even if the Sooners start slow, they have the ability to put together some mammoth runs. They put up 48 points in a span of just 17 minutes against Texas Tech on Tuesday night, and something similar could easily happen in this game.
Do keep in mind though, that the Sooners have struggled at times on the road. They were lucky to get past Oklahoma State at the Iba, and they weren't fortunate enough to survive against Iowa State and Kansas away from home. Deep in games, the Sooners have tended to get a little tight, and Hield in particular hasn't been able to capitalize on the big shots he's tasked to make. If this game comes down to a possession or two in the dying minutes, the Sooners could be taken advantage of in live betting.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and LSU Tigers will go down Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. ET at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
