Free Pick | NCAA | Saturday | Feb. 15

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#740 Oklahoma -8 over LSU 5 PM CT

Oklahoma has turned in three consecutive embarrassing losses by margins of 28, 18, and 24. Only one of those losses was at home and this is a critical game for the Sooners to get back on track as a trip to Gainesville is on deck Tuesday. Oklahoma is sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble as a 13-0 non-conference season has been erased with a 3-8 start in SEC play. The Sooners have drawn a very tough schedule with five of those losses against Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. There are appealing traits for Porter Moser’s team with 80 percent free throw shooting and a top 50 effective field goal rate. This is a defense that creates turnovers and has allowed below 29 percent 3-point shooting as well. LSU is facing a second straight road game, and all six road losses have come by seven or more points in SEC play with an average margin of defeat of 13 points. LSU in contrast played a very weak non-conference schedule and still took two losses, while boosting the statistics with six wins outside the nation’s top 250. While both teams rank towards the bottom of the SEC in several categories, Oklahoma has faced a tougher schedule and is a significantly stronger shooting team, including shooting eight percent better beyond the arc in SEC play, while five percent better on defense. Oklahoma is 10-3 S/U at home with the losses all coming against quality SEC teams and this should be a turning point game for the Sooners to deliver a bounce-back result in Norman.