Tigers Look For First SEC Win Against Kentucky

The No. 21-ranked LSU Tigers (12-1 SU, 10-3 ATS) will try to pick up their first conference victory Tuesday when they host the 16th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (11-2, 7-6) in a near pick’em matchup at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The Tigers are coming off their first loss of the season, falling 70-55 to the ninth-ranked Auburn Tigers as 4.5-point road underdogs last Wednesday in their SEC opener.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

There has been some early support for host LSU and the OVER, with both the side and total moving a full point as of late Monday. The Tigers were simply ice-cold from the field (18 of 63 for 28.6 percent) at Auburn, making five fewer shots on 10 more attempts than their opponent.

The SEC might be the best conference in the country right now with five teams ranked in the Top 25, so home court will be extremely important in league play. That makes this an extremely big game for LSU while Kentucky lost its only true road game at Notre Dame 66-62 as a 4.5-point road favorite on December 11.

The Wildcats have won four in a row SU and ATS since then and averaged 92 points per game during that stretch, so it is not surprising to see the total on the rise as well.

Kentucky News & Notes

Kentucky opened its conference slate with an 83-56 rout of the Missouri Tigers last Wednesday in Lexington, covering the spread as a 20.5-point home favorite. The Wildcats followed that up by blowing out High Point 92-47 and beating the number as 27-point home chalk on Friday, marking the eighth time this season they have been favored by more than 20.

They are 4-4 ATS in those games, and this is just the fourth game they will play with a single-digit point spread. The matchup with the Fighting Irish was one of them and did not go well, obviously, but that is their lone loss in their last dozen games.

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LSU News & Notes

Poor shooting games will happen from time to time, so the Tigers can chalk up their first loss to that and should be ready to move on in this spot. They have won 12 straight home games dating back to last year, going 11-1 ATS with the UNDER cashing nine times.

What that should tell you as a bettor is that LSU relies heavily on its defense at home, and only one opponent has scored more than 68 points in those 12 games (Auburn on February 20, 2021).

This will be Kentucky’s first visit since February 18, 2020, and that resulted in a 79-76 upset victory for the visiting team as a 2.5-point road underdog. The Tigers have dropped just two home games since then, going 22-2 SU and 17-7 ATS there.

How Kentucky Will Cover