No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers at LSU Tigers
Monday, 1/2/12, 7:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN3
Opening Point Spread: Virginia -2.5
Current Betting Line: Virginia -3
Opening Total: 111.5
Current Total: 111.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Virginia concludes its non-conference schedule with a trip to the Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, LA, seeking its first 11-game win streak since 1992-93. The Cavaliers are a terrible 0-12 all-time against SEC teams on the road. Head coach Tony Bennett wasn’t very happy with this team’s performance in tallying a 57-50 win over the Towson Tigers Friday night. “If we play liked this in conference play, no, we’re not ready,” he stated after the game. Virginia is 12-8 ATS on the road the past two-plus years.
The Cavaliers are led by senior forward Mike Scott, who is the ACC’s active leader in points, rebounds and double-doubles. He’s currently averaging 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Dating back to last season, Virginia has won four consecutive true road games, which is the longest such streak since the 1994-95 season. It’s all about defense under Bennett’s direction, ranking second nationally in giving up just 50.3 points per game. The Cavaliers are 22-2 when scoring at least 70 points during his time on the sidelines.
LSU has won seven consecutive games and has held all of those opponents to under 60 points. The Tigers will be seeking their first-ever victory in this series, dropping the first two meetings. “It’s my responsibility to make sure that they understand that yes, we’ve done a good job, but here’s the next game,” stated Tigers head coach Trent Johnson. Offensively, the team is averaging 69.1 points per game, producing a scoring margin of +8.7 at this point of the season. LSU is 3-12 ATS in January the past two-plus seasons.
The Tigers have produced 10 wins entering the new year for the first time since the 2008-09 team. LSU has really regained a home-court advantage inside tonight’s venue under Johnson, producing a 33-6 mark in his four years against non-conference opponents. There’s some hope that sophomore guard Andre Stringer will be back on the court for this affair, missing the last five games due to fainting in practice in early December. He’s averaging a team-best 12.1 points and is listed as questionable after being cleared to practice again.
Bettors will likely back the Cavaliers due to their 21-8 ATS mark in their last 29 games, while the Tigers are 1-4 ATS when playing on Monday.
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