LSU Tigers vs. Kentucky Wildcats Prediction & Game Preview - 2/23/2022

Time: 9 p.m. ET

Venue: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

Where to watch: ESPN

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LSU: 19-8 (7-7 SEC)

No. 6 Kentucky: 22-5 (11-3 SEC)

Just when it seemed like the LSU tigers were going to make the turn for the better, the tigers go out and lay a huge egg in South Carolina.

Is LSU an NCAA tournament team? That's really the big question right now when it comes to this team. They got off to such a great start, were perceived as one of the best teams in the SEC, and then when it came time to finally putting that resolve to the test in the form of conference play, LSU was unable to deliver when it needed to the most.

And yet after a three game winning streak, albeit against some teams that aren't really considered juggernauts within this conference, LSU loses to South Carolina on the road on Saturday in what can only be described as a pitiful effort at the hands of the road team.

Tari Eason had 21 points off the bench in 25 minutes to go along with ten rebounds, and Darius Days had 18 points and six rebounds to pace the starters, but that was all LSU was able to muster on this night. When you're backcourt combines to go 4 of 21 from the floor, you might as well just give up and accept the fact that your basketball team is probably destined for something that's not the NCAA tournament.

Xavier Pinson cannot give you 2 of 10 shooting, nor can Brandon Murray. it was about as pitiful of a performance as you could possibly get from a team that needs to win every single game it seems like in order to actually lay claim to a spot in the field of 68.

LSU is still a top team defensively, giving up only 62 points per game, and still averaging 73 per game on 44% shooting. I have all the doubts in the world at this point that LSU will even be able to sustain that number defensively because of the way that they've been losing games. Clearly if you can score 70 on this LSU team, they do not have enough to counteract that.

I think the Kentucky Wildcats can be given a reprieve for how the past couple of weeks have gone. Needless to say I was dead wrong about Kentucky beating Tennessee a week ago, with the volunteers dominating them from start to finish by the tune of a 13 point victory.

So imagine my surprise when I see Kentucky struggling so much defensively for the second straight game and giving up 81 points to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Which, as I've talked about at length over the last few days, why on earth is Alabama even ranked in the top 25?

That's neither here nor there but the Wildcats did get a much needed victory against Alabama on Saturday with a 9 point victory. Kentucky needed every bit of its star power to win this game because Alabama actually played a very decent 40 minutes. Behind the plate of Kellan Grady with a game high 25 points, and Oscar Tshiebwe continuing to do what he does well and be a double-double machine of 21 points and 14 rebounds, Kentucky was able to withstand a valiant offensive effort from Alabama.

Kentucky will remain one of the best teams in the SEC for a long period of time, so long as they continue to win games the way that they have. The Wildcats are still one of the top offensive teams in the country scoring 81 points a game, and their defense continues to be very stifling at 65 per game.

John Calipari tends to find so much depth and so much dominance in certain positions that it's almost hilarious to think that he can still recruit as well as he can. There are freshmen on this team that are playing big minutes and have shown that they can score with the best of them.

That's when you think Kentucky is on the decline, they come back with a season like this and look as good as they've ever been. Calipari has done, once again, a terrific job.

All of that being said, there should not be much to think about when it comes to this game. A lot has changed since the last time LSU played Kentucky back on January 4th, and it was a shocking victory for LSU at home against the Wildcats. I don't think there's any question that Kentucky will rebound and play much better at home in this rematch, and I think Kentucky will go on to win rather comfortably and get some much needed revenge. Kentucky by 15

LSU is 1-6 ATS after leading their last three games by at least five points at halftime.

Kentucky is 25-30 ATS as a favorite the past three seasons.

PG: Xavier Pinson

SG: Brandon Murray

SF: Mwani Wilkinson

PF: Darius Days

C: Efton Reid

PG: Sahvir Wheeler

SG: TyTy Washington Jr.

SF: Kellan Grady

PF: Keion Brooks Jr.

C: Oscar Tshiebwe

Points: Tari Eason -- 16.9

Rebounds: Darius Days -- 7.8

Assists: Xavier Pinson -- 4.5

Points: Oscar Tshiebwe -- 16.4

Rebounds: Oscar Tshiebwe -- 15.2

Assists: Sahvir Wheeler -- 7.1