The NIT Championship Game is set to take place on Thursday night in Indianapolis, and it should be a great college basketball game. This game will feature the Indiana State Sycamores taking on the Seton Hall Pirates in a battle of two teams that just missed the NCAA Tournament.
Indiana State suffered a tough loss in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Sycamores won the regular season title, and they come into this game with a record of 32-6.
Seton Hall has been on a remarkable run throughout the NIT, and they also just missed out on the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates are 24-12 on the year, but they have picked up some big wins along the way.
Indiana State is a slim 2.5-point betting favorite in this matchup, and the over/under is set at 158.5 total points.
Sycamores Can Score
Indiana State is one of the best offensive teams in the country this season, and they put 100 on the board in the NIT Semifinals. There are six different players on this team scoring at least 10.5 points per game, and the Sycamores share the ball extremely well.
Center Robbie Avila tends to get most of the attention for this team as he is leading the team with 17.5 points per game. The Sycamores are a team that will shoot a ton of shots from deep, and they have been making a good percentage of those.
Indiana State is not a great defensive team, but they have been getting enough stops throughout the NIT to win games in this tournament.
Pirates Must Play Defense
If the Seton Hall Pirates are going to win the NIT Championship Game then they are going to have to find a way to get some stops. Seton Hall has held three straight opponents to 68 points or less, and that is going to be a major key in this matchup.
This team has not been known to be a great offensive team this season, but they have scored at least 72 points in all four games during the NIT run. Kadary Richmond is leading the way with 15.6 points per game, and he will need to be great in this game.
Richmond has the ability to score, but they will be trying to slow down the pace if they want to win this game.
Indiana State Wins Title
Both Indiana State and Seton Hall felt like they should have been in the NCAA Tournament this season, and they have played like it. Indiana State is also playing for mid-major teams, and they are playing in this championship game close to campus.
Seton Hall has the defense to slow down Indiana State in this game, but eventually the Sycamores are going to get hot from deep. The Pirates just don’t have the fire power to keep pace, and that will get them at some point.
Betting on the Indiana State Sycamores at -2.5 is the bet to make as they come away with an NIT Championship on Thursday night.
