Kentucky Wildcats vs LSU Tigers Prediction, 2/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs LSU Tigers

Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Location: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA

TV: ESPN

The LSU Tigers (13-12) will try to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats (18-7) at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Wednesday.

The Kentucky Wildcats stepped onto the hardwood against Auburn and notched a win by a score of 70-59 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Wildcats finished with 23 while Auburn recorded 16 fouls. They also made 4 out of their 22 tries from beyond the perimeter. Auburn finished shooting 70.0% from the charity stripe by making 21 of their 30 attempts. In addition, Auburn had 34 rebounds (12 offensive, 22 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Auburn totaled 11 dimes and had 8 steals in the matchup. When discussing defense, Kentucky allowed 30.9% from the field on 17 out of 55 shooting. They also distributed 10 assists for the game in addition to forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and having 8 steals. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they collected 36 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 18 of their 24 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Kentucky walked away from the contest having earned a 44.4% field goal percentage (24 of 54) and converted 4 of their 13 three-point attempts.

Antonio Reeves is one guy who was a major contributor in the matchup. He finished 40.0% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. He played for 34 mins played and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He walked away with 22 points on 8 of 20 shooting.

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Kentucky will enter this game with a record of 18-7 for the season. They currently have an average of 88.2 points per outing (3rd in D-1) while connecting on 49.0% from the floor. The Wildcats are connecting on 40.5% on shots from downtown (241 of 595) and 75.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Kentucky is collecting 38.6 rebounds per game and is sitting with 435 assists this year, which has them ranked 23rd in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 10.1 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.8 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 12.2 turnovers per game while drawing 16.9 personal fouls. They relinquish 31.5% on 3-point attempts while they are 316th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (77.4). The Wildcats are giving up a FG percentage of 41.6% (674 of 1,619) and they surrender 37.6 boards per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 290th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 366 conceded on the season.

In their last game, the LSU Tigers walked away with a victory by a final of 64-63 when they faced South Carolina. With respect to how they attacked the glass, LSU permitted South Carolina to snag 30 in total (8 on the offensive glass). They finished 30.0% from beyond the arc by going 6 out of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 5 out of 6 from the free throw line (83.3%). The Tigers permitted South Carolina to make 26 out of their 62 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 41.9% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Tigers went 25 for 58 from the floor which had them shooting 43.1%. Regarding shooting from distance, LSU buried 5 of 13 tries (38.5%). They were able to convert 9 of those for a percentage of 64.3%. South Carolina committed 12 personal fouls for this game which took the Tigers to the charity stripe for 14 shots. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while earning 6 steals in this matchup. The Tigers were able to pull down 25 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in this game.

Tyrell Ward ended up having an impact for the Tigers in this contest. He accumulated 16 points in his 16 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist for this game. He converted 6 of 8 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, but wasn't able to snag a rebound.

LSU has a win-loss mark of 13-12 for the campaign. As an offensive unit, the Tigers are connecting on 46.0% from the floor, which ranks 110th in the nation. LSU has earned 1,932 pts on the year (77.3 per contest) and they grab 35.9 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.0 times per contest (285th in the nation) and they turn it over 12.9 times per contest. The Tigers are committing 17.7 fouls per game and they shoot 72.0% from the free throw line.

The LSU defense allows 33.8% from downtown (216 of 640) and their opponents are converting on 75.1% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 13.0 dimes and 35.8 rebounds every game, which ranks 187th and 241st in college basketball. The Tigers defensively are ranked 254th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 74.3. They are forcing their opponents into 13.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the field (93rd in Division 1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take LSU

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