NCAA Tournament Round 1 Pick – #3 LSU vs #14 Yale
Can Bulldogs Hold these Tigers?
Our LSU vs Yale pick has the Tigers favored by anywhere from 7.5 to 8.5 points. The two teams will meet in the first round in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, as the third-seed Tigers battle the 14th-seed Bulldogs at 12:40 pm ET on March 21. The game will be played in Jacksonville, FL at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
At the end of the regular season, LSU was first in the SEC. But the Tigers were knocked out of the SEC Tournament Quarterfinal Round by the Florida Gators. The Gators beat the Tigers 76-73. Yale finished in a virtual tie with Harvard in the Ivy League. In the Ivy League Tournament Final, the Bulldogs beat the Crimson 97-85 to earn their ticket to the Big Dance.
LSU Tigers
Our LSU vs Yale pick notes that the Tigers rely on the skill and smarts of sophomore guard Tremont Waters. He leads LSU with 15.1 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 3.0 SPG. Freshman forward Naz Reed is also an essential part of this team’s offense and defense. He tops the team with 7.9 RPG and is scoring 13.7 PPG. Guards Skylar Mays and Javonte Smart offer double-digit scoring, while forward Kavell Bigby-Williams, a 64% shooter, is averaging 7.9 PPG and 6.6 APG. The Tigers are scoring 81.4 PPG, grabbing 38.8 RPG, and making 13.1 APG. They’re also good for nine steals per contest. The team’s three-point average is low (32.3%) but their field goal (46.2%) and free throw (75.4%) percentages are solid.
Yale Bulldogs
For the Bulldogs in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, guard Miye Oni offers premium play on offense and defense. Oni leads the team with 17.6 PPG and 3.6 APG. He’s also good for 6.4 RPG. Forward Jordan Bruner does a good job of commanding the paint. He’s bringing down 8.4 RPG while scoring 10.2 PPG. Also, guard Alex Copeland and forward Blake Reynolds are good for 13.4 and 11.3 PPG respectively. Yale is averaging 80.6 PPG, 38.9 RPG, and 17.3 APG. Along with fine passing, this team is solid from the arc (37.0%), foul line (72.5%), and field (49.4%).
Our 2019 NCAA Tournament – LSU vs Yale Pick
Our 2019 NCAA Tournament LSU vs Yale pick for this Round One East Region contest notes that the Tigers are about average with ball movement and deficient when shooting threes. These are both areas where Yale excels. LSU is solid on defense, especially when it comes to steals. The Bulldogs can get sloppy with the ball sometimes. Overall, Yale is a better shooting team than LSU. We do like Yale to cover at +8.5. We think they’ll give LSU a solid battle.
Summary East Region, Round One LSU vs Yale Pick – Yale Bulldogs at +8.5
