The LSU Tigers, regular-season champs of the SEC, collide with the Ivy League champion Yale Bulldogs in the Round of 64. Yale comes into this game on a three-game winning streak, including topping Harvard in the Ivy League tournament final, while LSU is coming off a narrow loss to Florida in an SEC tournament quarterfinal. The Tigers look to get back on track and are an 7-point favorite to do so with the total Sportsbook at 160 points.
Standout Stats
- Yale had a rough end to the regular season, dropping three of its last five, but won the two games in the Ivy League tournament to capture its first title and is on a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, LSU has gone 9-2 SU and 8-3 ATS in its last 11 contests with an average winning margin of five, with eight of those victories coming by five or fewer points.
- The OVER has been a smart bet for both of these teams down the stretch with the total going OVER in five of LSU’s last eight contests and in five of Yale’s last seven. However, only three of the Bulldogs’ last seven pushed or went OVER 160 points, while only two of the Tigers’ last eight went OVER 160 points.
- Scoring hasn’t been an issue for either team this season as LSU is No. 11 at 81.4 points per game and Yale is right behind in 13th with 80.9 ppg. Additionally, the two are very evenly matched defensively with the Bulldogs giving up 73.7 ppg and the Tigers a little better with their opponents sinking 73 ppg.
- The offensive approach is very similar for Yale and LSU, both working inside the arc and attacking the rim. The Bulldogs have the edge in overall shooting percentage, hitting 49.6 percent of their shots while the Tigers shoot 46.2 percent from the floor. Defensively, Yale restricts its foes to a shooting percentage of 41.3 and LSU holds its opponents to 43.6 percent shooting from the floor.
- The Tigers have had a much tougher strength of schedule this season, ranking 45th out of 353 teams while the Bulldogs’ SOS ranked 192nd.
- As it seems with many of the stats between these two teams, they are nearly identical in rebounding as well with LSU ripping 38.8 boards and Yale securing 38.4. The Tigers may be able to find a big edge in the turnover battle, though, as they create 15 takeaways per game while the Bulldogs only get 11.1 takeaways per game.
My Best Bet for Yale vs LSU
LSU -7
LSU is going to hound the Yale ball carriers and create a lot of extra opportunities with turnovers. Also both teams have similar statistics offensively and defensively, but their level of competition is way different as LSU had the 45th-hardest strength of schedule and Yales' SOS ranked 192nd.
LSU is 9-2 SU and 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games.home The total has gone OVER in five of Yale’s last seven games.away Both teams rank in the top 15 in ppg this season (LSU-81.4, Yale-80.9).
