NCAA betting action will heat up Saturday night as the #15 LSU Tigers host the #22 West Virginia Mountaineers on ESPN2 with kickoff set for 9:05 PM Eastern. Sbgglobal opened with LSU as a 10-point home favorite and with an over/under of 42.
Undefeated Teams
The LSU Tigers survived a huge scare in their 30-24 opening win over North Carolina as they had to hold the Tar Heels out of the end zone on downs at game’s end. Since that time the Tigers have improved in on-field performance and with their confidence and stand at 3-0 straight up and 2-1 against the spread. Last week they manhandled Mississippi State at home 29-7 as 7.5-point favorites to improve to 2-0 in Southeastern Conference action.
West Virginia had a big time scare of their own as they were as good as dead at Marshall two weeks ago in a Friday ESPN matchup before rallying late to tie the game and send it into overtime before winning 24-21. The Mounties are 3-0 straight up and 1-2 against the spread and beat Maryland last week 31-17 as 10-point home favorites for their first payout of the season.
Intriguing Matchup
The dangerous West Virginia offense is ranked 26th in the country while LSU’s defense is ranked 6th best in the country for points allowed.
West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith came up clutch at Marshall and may have saved the season. He has completed 70% of his passes and has a nice 7/1 touchdown to interception ratio. Running back Noel Devine is another big college football betting asset for the Mounties as he has 4.8 yards per carry average and 2 touchdowns. The LSU defense is far and away the best that West Virginia will see thus far in 2010.
LSU Offense Needs a Jumpstart
Offense and quarterbacking have been the NCAA betting concern for the Tigers as they rank 91st overall for total offense and just 115th in passing as quarterback Jordan Jefferson has been inconsistent.
Trends
West Virginia is a sloppy 4-15 against the spread after beating the line in their previous game. LSU has failed to cover the spread in 11 out of their last 16 games as a favorite. West Virginia has gone over the total in 8 out of their last 9 games as a dog. LSU has gone under the total in 8 out of their last 9 games at home.