Oklahoma vs LSU will Feature Hield and Simmons
On Saturday, college basketball has a great game on tap when the No. 2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners visit the Louisiana State Tigers in Baton Rouge. The current line has Oklahoma favored by 4.5 points with the over/under point total not yet released
Oklahoma on the season has an overall record of 17-2 straight up and 9-8 against the spread. On the road, the Sooners are 4-2 SU and 3-3 ATS.
LSU on the season is 13-7 SU and 5-12 ATS. At home, the Tigers are 11-1 SU and 4-5 ATS.
This is one game everyone marked on their calendar at the start of the season. This non-conference showdown features Buddy Hield the Sooners senior who is considered this season’s best guard, and LSU freshmen Ben Simmons a forward in the running for Player of the Year.
The Sooners season has been much better up to this point than that have the Tigers. The Sooners two losses have been to ranked opponents and they have beaten teams such as Memphis, Villanova, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Iowa State, amongst others.
The Sooners most recent game was a rout of 24 points over Texas Tech in which Hield scored 30 to increase his scoring average for the season to 25.9 points per game.
Simmons has impressive numbers of his own. The freshman forward is averaging 19.8 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game. The Tigers are coming off a win on Tuesday night over SEC opponent Georgia.
Hield has scored 17 points or more in 18 of 19 games this season, He is shooting an impressive 52.2% from beyond the three-point arc.
However, Jordan Woodard leads the Sooners in three-point shooting hitting on 54.4% of his shots from that range. Isaiah Cousins has hit 9 of his past 12 over the past three games from 3-point range.
Only one player, Keith Hornsby, is shooting over 40% (43.5%) from beyond the three-point arc for LSU. Simmons has take just three long-range shots all season but goes to the hoop as good as any player in the league and averages 9 free throws per contest.
Playing in front of a raucous crowd in LSU will be a big challenge for the Sooners as the team has lost to road games this season in the Big 12.
Prediction: It is not easy playing at Pete Maravich Assembly Center against LSU. Oklahoma may have the better team, but LSU is 11-1 at home. However, I like the Sooners to win, but LSU to cover.
