The LSU Tigers will take on the UMKC Kangaroos at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU is coming off a 22-12 season but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament while UMKC went 19-12 and finished third in the Summit. Both teams have experienced heavy roster turnover and are under the guide of first-year head coaches.
Matt McMahon takes over for LSU after leading Murray State to three NCAA Tournament appearances and winning two games, while Marvin Menzies now coaches UMKC after previously coaching New Mexico St. and UNLV. The Tigers are favored by 22.5 points in the latest LSU vs. UMKC odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 138. Before you make any UMKC vs. LSU picks or predictions, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past six years, the proprietary computer model has generated more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anybody who has followed it has seen profitable returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on LSU vs. UMKC. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for UMKC vs. LSU:
- LSU vs. UMKC spread: LSU -22.5
- LSU vs. UMKC over-under: 138 points
- LSU vs. UMKC picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why LSU can cover
The Tigers fired Will Wade in March and are left with looming NCAA investigations into his tenure but landed one of the top mid-major coaches in the country in McMahon. However, he'll have to deal with 90% of his scoring production having left the program and will have to quickly build a rotation virtually from scratch.
One benefit is that he'll have Adam Miller at his disposal. The Illinois transfer averaged 8.3 points per game as a freshman, ranking fifth in the Big Ten, but missed all of last season with an injury. Miller should be a major contributor and junior Mwani Wilkinson will also play a significant role after making 30 starts a season ago. McMahon also brought OVC Player of the Year KJ Williams with him after he scored 1,667 points and grabbed 888 rebounds at Murray State.
Why UMKC can cover
UMKC only brings back four scholarship players from a season ago but it will hope to mobilize quickly under the stewardship of Menzies. The 61-year-old spent nine seasons at New Mexico State and made five NCAA Tournaments before spending three seasons at UNLV. He was most recently the associate head coach at Grand Canyon under Suns legend Dan Majerle.
Shemarri Allen played 23.7 minutes per game for the Roos in 2021-22 and he's back this season. He'll be expected to take on a big role for Menzies, who brought in three transfers and 11 freshmen. RayQuawndis Mitchell averaged 8.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for University of Illinois-Chicago last season and will also be expected to contribute significantly.
How to make UMKC vs. LSU picks
The model has simulated LSU vs. UMKC 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning over and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins LSU vs. UMKC? And which side of the spread hits well over 60% percent of the time? Visit SportsLine to see which side of the UMKC vs. LSU spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up over $1,200 on its college basketball picks the last six years, and find out.
