Auburn vs LSU Picks and Predictions NCAAB Dec 29
Auburn vs LSU Betting Preview
WagerTalk college basketball handicapper Tony Finn offers his Auburn vs LSU SEC basketball betting preview for Wednesday, December 29. At the time of posting, Auburn is holding steady as a 4.5-point home favorite over the visitors from Louisiana, with the total climbing to 144 points.
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| Wed, Dec 29 | College Basketball Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Auburn Tigers -4.5 vs LSU Tigers |
| Total: | 144 Points |
| Game Time: | 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT |
| Arena: | Auburn Arena |
| TV: | ESPN2 |
Auburn vs LSU Analysis
The LSU (12-0, 0-0 SEC) and Auburn Tigers (11-1, 0-0 SEC) square off Wednesday night to open conference play inside Auburn Arena. The two Southeastern Conference rivals arguably have the right to stake claim to being the top teams in the league. Auburn comes into their conference opener, having won eight straight. LSU is one of the five remaining undefeated Division I programs checking in with a perfect 12-0 start to the 2021-22 campaign.
It’s opening night of conference play in the SEC, and the league did us a scheduling favor by kicking off the unofficial beginning of March Madness by pitting No. 11 Auburn and No. 16 LSU.
Westgate of Las Vegas opened the Auburn Tigers as 4-point favorites with a total of 140 points. When this game preview went to press, Auburn as 4.5-point home chalk, and the total had climbed to 144 points.
Auburn’s last loss came in a double-overtime contest against the Connecticut Huskies. The LSU Tigers’ last Power 6 victory came against Georgia Tech. Tari Eason scored a career-high 23 points assisting the Tigers in a 15-point come-from-behind victory over the Yellow Jackets. A week ago, Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith had double-doubles in Auburn’s 71-58 win over Murray State.
The double-digit victory for Auburn was more impressive than the 71-58 final score. The Tigers shot a pedestrian 42.2% from the field, but second-chance points enable the Tigers to lead shortly into the first period and throughout with a dominating performance on the offense glass. The Tigers outrebounded the Racers 48-33 and never looked back after taking the lead four minutes into the opening stanza.
Auburn ranks as a Top 20 team in Division I in offense and defensive efficiency. LSU has also not played since last Wednesday when they earned a 95-60 win over Lipscomb. LSU forced the Lipscomb Bisons into 22 turnovers and were sharpshooters from distance connecting on 12-for-22 from three-point range.
LSU looks to put an end to media and college basketball pundits claiming they have played a soft schedule, and their 12-0 mark is misleading. A victory over the Tigers in Auburn Arena will not only quiet the critics but likely vault LSU into the Top-10.
The basketball programs in the SEC took a leap forward last year. The 2020-21 campaign did find the Kentucky Wildcats had one of their worst seasons in recent memory, but Alabama was a whirlwind of excitement winning the regular-season and tournament titles. Arkansas hired an ex-NBA coach sweeping them back to the days of Nolan Richardson and the expectations that come with that comparison.
SEC Basketball News and Notes:
- As soon as the college basketball portals were pushing the talents of Alabama, the Crimson Tide lost games to Memphis and Davidson in back-to-back weeks.
- Labeling the Tennessee Volunteers inconsistent would require doing so for half of Division I basketball. The Volunteers lost by 18 to Villanova only to tear off the calendar page of November 20 to find Tennessee scheduled to face North Carolina. Instead, the Vols showed up for the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament and took down UNC by an 89-72 final.
- This past Wednesday, when the Vols were readying for a week of Christmas cheer, the Tennessee squad jumped out to a 16-2 lead over No. 6 Arizona and never looked back, earning a 77-73 victory over an undefeated Wildcats team.
- This past week the SEC updated its COVID-19 protocols related to isolation periods consistent with yesterday’s CDC announcement. Those not showing symptoms can come out of isolation after five days instead of 10.
Auburn vs LSU Prediction
The Tigers vs. the Tigers is tonight’s feature college basketball event. LSU claims that they are the best defensive team in Division I, which they according to KenPom’s metrics. The Auburn Tigers players and their faithful believe. They believe this is the best team they have had since the turn of the century, and they have a chance to hold serve and sweep their home schedule in SEC play.
The strength of schedule for these two SEC rivals gives the home Tigers the edge. The WagerTalk pick to click is a win and cover by Auburn.
Wednesday on WagerTalk TV:
🏒11am ET: Puck Time
☕️12pm ET: WagerTalk Today
🏀1:45pm ET: NCAAB Tip-Off
🏈3:15pm ET: Best Damn CFB Show
🏀4:15pm ET: NBA Tip-Off
🗣️6pm ET: The Hustle Pod
💰Evening: Bet On It
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Interested in placing a bet on tonight’s Auburn vs LSU contest? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.
Auburn vs LSU Preview from GoldSheet
About as unexpected as the Miami Dolphins on a 7-game win streak has been the LSU hoopsters forging a nation’s best defensive efficiency rating, which was hardly something we would expect from a Will Wade-coached team. To wit: the still-unbeaten Baton Rouge Tigers haven’t allowed a single opponent to come close to one point per possession this season, with Penn State closest at 0.93 points per. Illustrating what happens when mobile bigs can seamlessly switch to guards and wings, and what length and athleticism can achieve if put to proper use.
But despite a couple of recent blowout wins vs. Lipscomb and Northwestern State, LSU can hardly be considered an elite offensive team, itself under a point-per-possession in three of its last four games, and perimeter shooting often inconsistent (just 32% triples), with slithery top scorer 6-8 Tari Eason (16.3 ppg) doing much of his business inside the arc.
Bruce Pearl’s Auburn has enough shooters (especially top scorer G Jabari Smith, at 45% from downtown) to flood the floor, and just added another sharp edge with G Allen Flanigan, now back to active duty after an Achilles injury after scoring better than 14 ppg a year ago. This will by far be LSU’s toughest test, and we’d like to make Wade’s team prove it can go out on the road and beat a ranked foe. In the meantime, continuing to support the Baton Rouge “under” trend (9-1 last 10) seems a good idea.
College Basketball Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his College Basketball Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Wednesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Auburn vs LSU contest.
NCAAB Tip-Off Show
Get your daily fix of college hoops betting information with Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of handicapping guests. The Happy Hour Tip-Off Show will broadcast Monday through Friday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT. Pull up a barstool and join us as we break down tonight’s college basketball card from a sports betting perspective. In Wednesday’s episode, we’ll cover Alabama vs Tennessee; Auburn vs LSU; and Providence vs Seton Hall.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the college basketball point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Wednesday’s NCAAB games, including this Auburn vs LSU showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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