NCAAB Cayman Islands Classic LSU vs Kansas State Betting Preview
Championship Game Wednesday Night
It looks like the Championship Game of the Cayman Islands Classic is going to be a good one as two 5-0 teams meet up in the LSU vs Kansas State betting matchup. Oddsmakers are sure expecting a tight meeting in making KSU just a 1/2 a point favorite in this 7:30 PM ET tip-off.
On paper there would seem to have some value on the Tigers mostly because they played on Tuesday afternoon and rolled to a 73-58 win over Akron – LSU’s second double-digit win of the tournament. K-State has to play their third game in as many nights following a 96-87 ping pong match win over over Nevada in OT on Tuesday night. 60% of the betting public still likes the Wildcats.
LSU Opened at -2.5
For whatever reason the spread is moving away from Louisiana State, which opened as a -2.5 favorite for Wednesday’s game but have been bet down to a 1/2 a point underdog. You really can’t fault the Tigers’ two performances at George Town in the Cayman Islands, as they’ve rolled through Illinois State 77-61 on Monday and then topped Akron 73-58 on Tuesday to cover a -13 and -4 point spread respectively.
LSU is up to 5-0 on the season after three home wins to begin the season. The Tigers were 21-10 last season but have to replace 1st round NBA draft pick Tari Eason (16.9 ppg), Darius Days (13.6 ppg) who is in the G-League, and Xavier Pinson (10.3 ppg) who transferred to New Mexico State.
LSU had a top 30 defense last season (62.9 ppg) and that stifling attack has been on display this week with the Tigers giving up 59.5 ppg which is right near their season average of 59.2. Along with that defense LSU has some scoring too, with KJ Williams blowing up for 33 on Monday and Adam Miller pumping in 23 on Tuesday.
Kansas State Coming Off OT
The Wildcats rolled to a 20-point win over Rhodes Island in the opener of the Cayman Islands Classic, winning 77-57 to cover the -13 point spread. Jerome Tang’s found themselves in a dogfight on Tuesday night though, rallying from a 2-point halftime deficit to finally go on a 16-7 run in OT to get the 96-87 win over Nevada to cover the -4.5 number.
You always worry about how playing in OT during a tournament will affect a team’s stamina moving forward, and that’s the spot KSU is in in the LSU vs Kansas State betting matchup. That’s especially true this early in the year when teams really don’t have their game conditioning yet, and who knows how the eating vs. training battle is playing out during an island getaway.
K-State was led by basically two players vs. the Wolfpack as Keyontae Johnson had 28 points and Markquis Nowell 29. The Florida transfer Johnson looks back as he’s averaging 18.0 ppg, something you love to see after the heart scares of a couple seasons ago.
Free LSU vs Kansas State Betting Pick
These early season tournament games can be a toss-up on neutral courts but it looks like LSU has some value in this spot as a 1/2 point underdog. Both teams have two capable scorers, which makes LSU’s stifling defense the X-factor especially with K-State playing an OT game on Tuesday night.
Free Pick: LSU +0.5
