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South Alabama vs. Louisiana prediction and odds for Sun Belt Championship

By Reed Wallach

Dec 14, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns forward Jordan Brown (21) controls the ball as Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts (13) defends during the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 14, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns forward Jordan Brown (21) controls the ball as Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts (13) defends during the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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South Alabama has been on a tear in the Sun Belt Tournament, winning three straight games as the No. 8 seed to get to the title game.

The Jaguars run into the No. 2 seed Louisiana, who won both regular season meetings against South Alabama and boast the leagues best offense.

Can South Alabama’s dream run to an NCAA Tournament berth come to fruition, or does it end with a third loss this season to the Ragin’ Cajun?

Here are the odds for the Sun Belt title game:

South Alabama vs. Louisiana odds, spread and total

South Alabama vs. Louisiana prediction and pick

Both regular season matchups are notable to look at to add context to this matchup. Jaguars big man Kevin Samuel missed the first matchup, a three-point home loss as USA couldn’t slow down the Ragin Cajun on the inside. Samuel is one of the best rim protectors in the conference and Louisiana big man Jordan Brown scored 23 points, hitting nine of 12 shots.

However, Samuel played in the second meeting in the regular season finale and Brown played even better, scoring 28 points on 13-of-15 shooting.

The Ragin’ Cajun have the best offense in the Sun Belt, leading the conference in offensive rebounding rate and free throw rate, but the Jaguars are playing the best ball of any team over the last month. Since Feb. 1, South Alabama is playing like a top 30 team in the country, surrounded around Samuel’s rim protection and Isaiah Moore’s creation. The Jaguars lead the Sun Belt in effective field goal percentage and turnover rate.

This game is a true toss up between a team with the most momentum, but also running into the best offense in the league. I’ll side with the over in this matchup. The regular season finale closed with a total of 146.5, but went under with 138 points. However, this total has over adjusted down to 139.5. Both teams are potent offensively and we have seen Louisiana score on South Alabama with Samuel on the floor and off of it.

I’ll go over in the title game.

Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.