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NIT Semifinals Tips
March 30, 2015
This year’s NCAA Tournament starts back up this Saturday with the Final Four, but college hoops bettors will have plenty of action to keep them busy this Tuesday night with a pair of matchups in both the semifinals of the National Invitational Tournament and the College Insider Tournament.
NIT Semifinal - No. 2 Miami (FL) vs. No. 1 Temple (ESPN, 7 p.m.)
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York City, NY
Betting Odds: Temple -1 ½, Total 141
The Miami Hurricanes made their way to the NIT semifinals as the No. 2 seed in Region 2. After failing to cover against the spread in an opening round 75-71 victory against No. 7 North Carolina Central as 8 ½-point favorites, the Hurricanes went on to knockoff No. 6 Alabama 73-66 as 4 ½-point favorites and No. 1 Richmond 63-61 as 2 ½-point underdogs. Miami is now 7-2 straight-up in its last nine games while going 4-5 ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in three of its last five games.
The Hurricanes were dealt a blow when their second-leading scorer Angel Rodriguez was lost to a wrist injury, but both Manu Lecomte and JaQuan Newton are listed as probable for Tuesday night. Junior guard Sheldon McClellan has led the way all season with 14.4 points per game and he had the hot hand in last Tuesday’s victory against Richmond with 16 points while going 6-for 13 from the field.
Temple’s run through Region 1 on the NIT as the top seed included victories against No. 8 Bucknell and No. 5 George Washington, but its best effort came in last Wednesday’s 77-59 win against No. 3 Louisiana Tech as a four-point favorite. The Owls are now 7-1 SU in their last eight games with a 5-3 record ATS. The total stayed UNDER the closing 146 ½-point line in last Wednesday’s win after it had gone OVER in four of their previous six games.
Three of five Temple starters scored in double figures against Louisiana Tech led by junior guard Quenton DeCosey’s game-high 21 points. He also pulled down 11 of the Owls 39 rebounds to help pace the win. Temple is shooting just 38.4 percent from the field this season, but in that game it made good on 49. 1 percent of its 55 shots.
Betting Trends:
-- The Hurricanes are 7-4 ATS this season in 11 previous games as underdogs, but they are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 nonconference games. The total has stayed UNDER in six of their last eight games following a SU win.
-- The Owls are 4-1 ATS in their last five games outside the their conference and 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last eight games against a team from the ACC.
-- These two last met in the 2005/2006 regular season with Temple coming away with a 73-56 victory as a 3 ½-point home favorite.
NIT Semifinal - No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 1 Old Dominion (ESPN, 9 p.m.)
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York City, NY
Betting Odds: Stanford -2 ½, Total 138
Stanford came into this year’s NIT as the No. 2 seed in Region 3. It started things off with a 77-64 victory over No. 7 UC Davis while covering as an 8 ½-point favorite. The Cardinal also covered as five-point favorites in a 74-65 win against No. 3 Rhode Island, but they came up short as 4 ½-point favorites in last Tuesday’s 78-75 victory against No. 5 Vanderbilt. Before this tournament, Stanford was just 1-4 SU in its previous five contests while failing to cover in all five games.
The duo of senior guards Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown have done much of the damage for Stanford in this tournament. Randle leads the team in scoring with 19.3 PPG, but he has averaged 23 points in his last three games. Brown is second on the team with 15 PPG and he led the way against Vanderbilt with 26 points. On the injury front, both Grant Verhoeven and Michael Humphrey remain questionable for Tuesday night after missing their last several games.
The Monarchs came into the NIT as the top seed in Region 4 after going 13-5 SU in Conference USA this season. They failed to cover in victories against No. 8 Charleston Southern and No. 4 Illinois State, but a buzzer-beater against No. 3 Murray State propelled them into this round after pulling-out a thrilling 72-69 victory as 1 ½-point favorites. ODU is now 9-1 SU in its last 10 games while going 7-3 ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in 10 of its last 13 games.
Junior guard Trey Freeman hit the game winner against Murray State as part of his game-high 25 points on the night. He has been the Monarchs leading scorer this season with 17.5 PPG. ODU is averaging 65.4 PPG and at the other end of the court it is holding its opponents to 56.8 points a game.
Betting Trends:
-- The Cardinal are 6-1 ATS in their last seven nonconference games, but they have failed to cover in four of their last five games played at a neutral site. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last 10 games following a SU win.
-- The Monarchs are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 out of conference games and they are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in their last five neutral-site games.
-- The only time these two teams played one another was all the way back in 2000 with Stanford rolling to an 84-60 victory as a 19-point home favorite.
College Insider Tournament
The first of two matchups in Tuesday’s College Insider Tournament pits the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks against the Evansville Purple Aces as 6 ½-point road underdogs with the total set at 150. The Skyhawks are 21-12 SU this season with a 16-10 record ATS. They have won their last three games both SU and ATS.
The Purple Aces come into this matchup with a SU record of 22-12 while going 17-13-1 ATS. They are 6-4 (SU and ATS) in their last 10 games and 2-1 ATS in this tournament. These two have not faced one another since 2009, but Evansville has a 6-1 SU edge in seven previous meetings and it is 2-1 ATS in the last three games.
The second game on Tuesday’s slate sends the New Jersey Tech Highlanders on the road to face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks as 4 ½-point underdogs. The total for the game has been set at 144 ½. New Jersey Tech brings a SU six-game winning streak into this contest and it has covered in its first three games of this tournament. The total has gone OVER in those three games.
Northern Arizona (22-14 SU) is 8-2 SU in its last 10 contests and it has covered ATS in four of its last five games as part of an overall record of 17-11-4 ATS. The total has gone OVER in its last two games. This will be the first meeting between these two in recent memory.
March 30, 2015
This year’s NCAA Tournament starts back up this Saturday with the Final Four, but college hoops bettors will have plenty of action to keep them busy this Tuesday night with a pair of matchups in both the semifinals of the National Invitational Tournament and the College Insider Tournament.
NIT Semifinal - No. 2 Miami (FL) vs. No. 1 Temple (ESPN, 7 p.m.)
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York City, NY
Betting Odds: Temple -1 ½, Total 141
The Miami Hurricanes made their way to the NIT semifinals as the No. 2 seed in Region 2. After failing to cover against the spread in an opening round 75-71 victory against No. 7 North Carolina Central as 8 ½-point favorites, the Hurricanes went on to knockoff No. 6 Alabama 73-66 as 4 ½-point favorites and No. 1 Richmond 63-61 as 2 ½-point underdogs. Miami is now 7-2 straight-up in its last nine games while going 4-5 ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in three of its last five games.
The Hurricanes were dealt a blow when their second-leading scorer Angel Rodriguez was lost to a wrist injury, but both Manu Lecomte and JaQuan Newton are listed as probable for Tuesday night. Junior guard Sheldon McClellan has led the way all season with 14.4 points per game and he had the hot hand in last Tuesday’s victory against Richmond with 16 points while going 6-for 13 from the field.
Temple’s run through Region 1 on the NIT as the top seed included victories against No. 8 Bucknell and No. 5 George Washington, but its best effort came in last Wednesday’s 77-59 win against No. 3 Louisiana Tech as a four-point favorite. The Owls are now 7-1 SU in their last eight games with a 5-3 record ATS. The total stayed UNDER the closing 146 ½-point line in last Wednesday’s win after it had gone OVER in four of their previous six games.
Three of five Temple starters scored in double figures against Louisiana Tech led by junior guard Quenton DeCosey’s game-high 21 points. He also pulled down 11 of the Owls 39 rebounds to help pace the win. Temple is shooting just 38.4 percent from the field this season, but in that game it made good on 49. 1 percent of its 55 shots.
Betting Trends:
-- The Hurricanes are 7-4 ATS this season in 11 previous games as underdogs, but they are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 nonconference games. The total has stayed UNDER in six of their last eight games following a SU win.
-- The Owls are 4-1 ATS in their last five games outside the their conference and 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last eight games against a team from the ACC.
-- These two last met in the 2005/2006 regular season with Temple coming away with a 73-56 victory as a 3 ½-point home favorite.
NIT Semifinal - No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 1 Old Dominion (ESPN, 9 p.m.)
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York City, NY
Betting Odds: Stanford -2 ½, Total 138
Stanford came into this year’s NIT as the No. 2 seed in Region 3. It started things off with a 77-64 victory over No. 7 UC Davis while covering as an 8 ½-point favorite. The Cardinal also covered as five-point favorites in a 74-65 win against No. 3 Rhode Island, but they came up short as 4 ½-point favorites in last Tuesday’s 78-75 victory against No. 5 Vanderbilt. Before this tournament, Stanford was just 1-4 SU in its previous five contests while failing to cover in all five games.
The duo of senior guards Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown have done much of the damage for Stanford in this tournament. Randle leads the team in scoring with 19.3 PPG, but he has averaged 23 points in his last three games. Brown is second on the team with 15 PPG and he led the way against Vanderbilt with 26 points. On the injury front, both Grant Verhoeven and Michael Humphrey remain questionable for Tuesday night after missing their last several games.
The Monarchs came into the NIT as the top seed in Region 4 after going 13-5 SU in Conference USA this season. They failed to cover in victories against No. 8 Charleston Southern and No. 4 Illinois State, but a buzzer-beater against No. 3 Murray State propelled them into this round after pulling-out a thrilling 72-69 victory as 1 ½-point favorites. ODU is now 9-1 SU in its last 10 games while going 7-3 ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in 10 of its last 13 games.
Junior guard Trey Freeman hit the game winner against Murray State as part of his game-high 25 points on the night. He has been the Monarchs leading scorer this season with 17.5 PPG. ODU is averaging 65.4 PPG and at the other end of the court it is holding its opponents to 56.8 points a game.
Betting Trends:
-- The Cardinal are 6-1 ATS in their last seven nonconference games, but they have failed to cover in four of their last five games played at a neutral site. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of their last 10 games following a SU win.
-- The Monarchs are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 out of conference games and they are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games following a SU win. The total has stayed UNDER in their last five neutral-site games.
-- The only time these two teams played one another was all the way back in 2000 with Stanford rolling to an 84-60 victory as a 19-point home favorite.
College Insider Tournament
The first of two matchups in Tuesday’s College Insider Tournament pits the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks against the Evansville Purple Aces as 6 ½-point road underdogs with the total set at 150. The Skyhawks are 21-12 SU this season with a 16-10 record ATS. They have won their last three games both SU and ATS.
The Purple Aces come into this matchup with a SU record of 22-12 while going 17-13-1 ATS. They are 6-4 (SU and ATS) in their last 10 games and 2-1 ATS in this tournament. These two have not faced one another since 2009, but Evansville has a 6-1 SU edge in seven previous meetings and it is 2-1 ATS in the last three games.
The second game on Tuesday’s slate sends the New Jersey Tech Highlanders on the road to face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks as 4 ½-point underdogs. The total for the game has been set at 144 ½. New Jersey Tech brings a SU six-game winning streak into this contest and it has covered in its first three games of this tournament. The total has gone OVER in those three games.
Northern Arizona (22-14 SU) is 8-2 SU in its last 10 contests and it has covered ATS in four of its last five games as part of an overall record of 17-11-4 ATS. The total has gone OVER in its last two games. This will be the first meeting between these two in recent memory.
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