SMU vs LSU Prediction 12/13/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The SMU Mustangs and the LSU Tigers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Here’s a SMU vs LSU prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best SMU vs LSU pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

SMU Mustangs Betting Preview

The Mustangs rattled off eight straight wins to start the year. SMU began with victories over Tarleton State, Texas A&M-CC, Murray State and Butler in their first quartet, then proceeded to take care of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Arkansas State, Radford and Mississippi State from there. Following their first loss of the season versus Vanderbilt, the Mustangs rebounded with a win over Texas A&M in their last game. That gives SMU a 9-1 record through the first 10 games this season.

In the Texas A&M matchup last weekend, SMU blew a 41-27 halftime lead and had to go to overtime to decide a 93-80 victory on the road. Jaron Pierre led the team with his 35 points and five rebounds, while Kevin Miller had 19 points with six boards and four assists. Corey Washington added 14 points in the winning effort for the Mustangs as well.

LSU Tigers Betting Preview

Over on the LSU side, they opened up the season with eight straight wins as well, taking out Tarleton State, New Orleans, Florida International and Alcorn State in the first four. The Tigers would then beat Omaha, Drake, DePaul and Boston College from there before taking their first loss of the year versus Texas Tech. In nine games so far LSU has managed to post an 8-1 overall record.

Matched up against Texas Tech last weekend, the Tigers were down 47-26 going into the second half and didn’t get any closer in an 82-58 blowout loss. Dedan Thomas led the team in the losing effort with 13 points and one assist. The only other team player in double-digits was Mike Nwoko with 10 points, seven rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes of action on the floor.

SMU Mustangs @ LSU Tigers Betting Trends: December 13, 2025

Why the LSU Tigers will win

• LSU has won 19 of its last 20 night games against non-Conference opponents.
• SMU has lost each of its last four games after coming off overtime.
• SMU has lost the first half in seven of its last eight Saturday games against non-Conference opponents.

Why the SMU Mustangs will win

• SMU has won each of its last nine games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

SMU vs LSU Prediction

I’ll lean toward SMU but you could make a case either way. The Mustangs had a bad second half against a pretty solid Texas A&M team at College Park Center in their last outing, but to their credit SMU rallied for the OT win. The Mustangs shot 47 percent from the field and 26-of-28 (92.9 percent) from outside but weren’t so hot from 3-point range (22.7 percent on 5-of-22). SMU has been scoring great lately with 87 or more points in seven of the last eight outings. The lone outlier was 69 in the loss to Vanderbilt.

As for LSU, they shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 16.7 percent (4-of-24) from outside in their loss to Texas Tech. The Tigers had hit 71 or more points in every game prior to that however, so they’ll likely put up a good total here. Should be a fun one to watch regardless of what happens.

Andrew Jett's Pick: SMU Mustangs -1