Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Tuesday, March 27, 2018 from various handicappers and websites
The NIT Men’s Basketball Tournament heads to Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday for the two semifinals matchups leading to Thursday night’s championship game.
Action on the right side of the bracket gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET with No. 4 Western Kentucky taking on No. 2 Utah before No. 4 Mississippi State and No. 4 Penn State finish off the festivities from MSG at 9:00 p.m. ET.
No. 4 Western Kentucky vs. No. 2 Utah (ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET)
Opening Odds: Hilltoppers -1, Total 142
NIT Betting Results
Date Matchup Score ATS Result
Mar. 13 Western Kentucky (-4) vs. Boston College 79-62 Favorite-Under (159)
Mar. 19 USC vs. Western Kentucky (+4.5, ML +190) 79-75 Underdog-Over (152)
Mar. 21 Western Kentucky (+6, +240) vs. Oklahoma State 92-84 Underdog-Over (150.5)
Date Matchup Score ATS Result
Mar. 14 Utah (-12.5) vs. UC Davis 69-59 Underdog-Under (139)
Mar. 19 LSU vs. Utah (-5) 95-71 Favorite-Over (148.5)
Mar. 21 Utah (+6, +250) vs. St. Mary's 67-58 Underdog-Under (140.5)
Betting Matchup
The Hilltoppers lost to Marshall 67-66 in the Conference USA Tournament title game as 5 ½-point favorites, but they have made the most of their NIT bid with a three-game winning streak both straight-up and against the spread as the No. 4 seed in Region 3. After rolling over Boston College by 17 points as a four-point home favorite, Western Kentucky went on the road to get past No. 1 USC and No. 2 Oklahoma State as underdogs. The total went OVER in those two road games and it has gone OVER in six of its last nine games overall.
In last Wednesday’s 92-84 victory against the Cowboys as 6 ½-point underdogs, the Hilltoppers got a huge effort from freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth. His 30 points and eight rebounds led the way among five starters in double figures. Western Kentucky averaged 78.8 points per game this season and it has met or exceeded that average in all three NIT games.
Utah led a host of Pac-12 teams in the NIT this season as the No. 2 seed in Region 4. After failing to cover in a 10-point victory against UC Davis as 12 ½-point home favorite in their first tournament matchup, the Utes lived up to lofty expectations with a 95-71 romp over LSU as five-point favorites at home.
Heading on the road for the quarterfinals, they stunned No. 1 St. Mary’s 67-58 in overtime as six-point underdogs. The total stayed UNDER 141 points in that game and it has stayed UNDER in nine of Utah’s last 12 games.
Junior guard Sedrick Barefield scored three of the Utes’ four three-point buckets in overtime against St. Mary’s as part of his 19 points in last Wednesday’s win. Senior guard Justin Bibbins has been Utah’s leading scorer this season with 14.7 PPG and he started this tournament by scoring 21 points in the opening round. The Utes are averaging 73.8 PPG overall while allowing 68.2 points on defense.
Betting Trends
-- The Hilltoppers are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games following a SU win and the total has stayed UNDER in six of their last eight neutral-site games.
-- The Utes have failed to cover in five of their last six games played at a neutral site and the total has gone OVER in four of their last five games against a team from C-USA.
-- This will be the first meeting between the two.
No. 4 Mississippi State vs. No. 4 Penn State (ESPN, 9:00 p.m. ET)
Opening Odds: Nitanny Lions -2 ½, 134 ½
NIT Betting Results
Date Matchup Score ATS Result
Mar. 14 Mississippi State (-4.5) vs. Nebraska 66-59 Favorite-Under (142.5)
Mar. 18 Baylor vs. Mississippi State (+5.5, ML +200) 78-77 Underdog-Over (133.5)
Mar. 20 Mississippi State (+6, ML +230) vs. Louisville 79-56 Underdog-Under (144)
Date Matchup Score ATS Result
Mar. 14 Penn State (-9.5) vs. Temple 63-57 Underdog-Under (144.5)
Mar. 17 Notre Dame vs. Penn State (+5.5, ML +210) 73-63 Undedog-Under (154.5)
Mar. 20 Penn State (+3, ML +140) vs. Marquette 85-80 Underdog-Over (151)
Betting Matchup
The Bulldogs are the pride of the SEC as the only team in that conference still playing basketball this week. Going back to a SU SEC Tournament win against LSU as 2 ½-point favorites, they have covered in each of their last five games. Mississippi State won its last two NIT games as a road underdog including a big 79-56 romp against Louisville as a six-point underdog. The total has stayed UNDER in five of its last seven games.
Mississippi State’s defense put the clamps on the Cardinals in the second half of last Tuesday’s win by holding Louisville to 28 points. On the other side of the ball, junior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon responded with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while going 6-for-10 from the field. He has led the Bulldogs in scoring this season with an average of 14.7 PPG.
Penn State has won its last four games SU when closing as an underdog. Following a six-point win at home against Temple as 9 ½-point favorites in the NIT opener, the Lions beat Notre Dame by 10 points and Marquette by five points as road underdogs in the next two rounds. The total went OVER 151 points against the Golden Eagles last Tuesday after it had stayed UNDER in four of their previous five contests.
Sophomore forward Lamar Stevens is a big reason why Penn State is playing at MSG on Tuesday night after pouring in a game-high 30 points in the win against Marquette. He went 14-for-22 from the field in that game. Sophomore guard Tony Carr remains the Lions’ leading scorer this season with 19.7 PPG and he added 25 points in Tuesday’s winning effort.
Betting Trends
-- The Bulldogs have gone 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven neutral-site games and the total has stayed UNDER in three of their last four games closing as underdogs.
-- The Lions have posted a 0-4-1 record ATS in their last five games against the SEC and the total has stayed UNDER in five of their last six nonconference games.
-- The only time these two teams played one another was back in 1997 with Mississippi State squeezing out a slight 58-57 win.
By David Schwab
Tuesday’s NIT games (New York City)
Western Kentucky/Utah are both long way from home; Hilltoppers won games at Oklahoma State/USC last week to get here- they’re #155 experience team that plays pace #143 and is 10-5 outside C-USA. WKU won 11 of its last 14 games; they won by 4 at USC (playing without Metu) in only Pac-12 game this season. Utah is 11-3 outside Pac-12; they won in OT at St Mary’s in last game to get here. Utes won nine of last 11 games; they’re #33 experience team that plays pace #299. Utah gets 37.8% of its points behind arc; WKU opponents shot 36.1% behind arc to this point (#237).
Penn State figures to have large crowd edge playing in NYC; Nittany Lions won five of last six games, winning last two games at Notre Dame/Marquette to get here. Penn St is making third trip to NYC this season- they lost 98-87 to Texas A&M in Brooklyn in only SEC game this year, won two of three in Big 14 tourney on this floor earlier this month. Lions are #244 experience team that plays pace #211. Mississippi State won games at Baylor/Louisville to get here; they’re #325 experience team that plays pace #214. Bulldogs beat Nebraska at home by 7 in only Big 14 game this season.
Hey bama a buddy of mine and myself started doing the fav/dog to over/under count about 10 years ago in pro football a while ago going into the Monday night game, for break even games good shit brother your on target and thanks, just another tool for breakdowns even odd counts
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Utah Utes Preview and Predictions 03-27-2018
26th March 2018 by Gracenote
This may not be the best of the five non-NCAA Tournament teams Utah has had under seventh-year coach Larry Krystkowiak, but the current Runnin' Utes certainly have advanced the farthest - all the way to the Big Apple in fact. And there, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, Utah will face Western Kentucky in the first NIT semifinal.
The Utes won six of their final seven regular-season games to finish tied for third in the Pac-12, but were the only top-four seed to lose in the conference tournament quarterfinals. But then, after earning one of the four No. 2 seeds in the NIT bracket, Utah rolled to double-digit home wins over UC Davis and LSU before outdueling top-seeded host Saint Mary's 67-58 in overtime to punch its ticket to New York and the fourth NIT semifinal appearance in the program's history. "It's our personalities," senior guard and leading scorer Justin Bibbins told the Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week when asked about the Utes' noticeably better chemistry this season. "We all jelled with each other, and there weren't any hotheads or people on the team who suck the life out of it. We all wanted to learn and get better, and we all love playing with each other. That's the biggest thing." Western Kentucky has posted its most wins in a decade and is making its first NIT semifinal appearance since 1954 after a home win over Boston College and road triumphs over top-seeded USC (79-75) and second-seeded Oklahoma State (92-84) as a fourth seed.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT WESTERN KENTUCKY (27-10): Coach Rick Stansbury's Hilltoppers boast a top-60 national offense, averaging 78.8 points per game with all five starters averaging double figures - led by senior forward Justin Johnson's 15.4 points. Senior guard Darius Thompson (13.9 points), freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth (13.5), junior guard Lamonte Bearden (11.8) and senior forward Dwight Coleby (11.1) also are averaging double digits for Western Kentucky, which is shooting 49.7 percent from the field to rank eighth nationally. The 6-7 Johnson (9.4 boards) and the 6-9 Coleby (7.9) are formidable rebounders while Thompson and Bearden are the engines in the attack, combining to average 8.2 assists per outing.
ABOUT UTAH (22-11): Bibbins leads the team with 14.7 points and 4.7 assists and has averaged 16.8 and 3.5, respectively, in the Utes' four postseason contests, including the Pac-12 Tournament loss to Oregon. Senior forward David Collette (12.5 points), junior guard Sedrick Barefield (11.6) and senior forward Tyler Rawson (10.8) also average double figures for Utah, and it was Barefield who finished with a game-high 19 points - including nine of the team's 13 points in overtime - in the road win over Saint Mary's. The 6-10 Rawson (6.9 boards), 7-0 sophomore Jayce Johnson (5.5) and the 6-10 Collette (4.5) are the squad's leading rebounders, and Collette is expected to start despite sitting out the overtime period against the Gaels with a back injury.
TIP-INS
1. This will be the first meeting between the programs and Utah's first game against a Conference-USA opponent in 10 years.
2. Utah is the highest remaining seed in the NIT with Western Kentucky and the other two semifinalists, Penn State and Mississippi State, all being No. 4 seeds in their respective quadrants.
3. Western Kentucky is 4-1 against Power 5 conference foes this season with wins over Big Ten (Purdue), ACC (Boston College), Big 12 (Oklahoma State) and Pac-12 (USC) teams in the same year for the first time in program history.
PREDICTION: Western Kentucky 75, Utah 71
Penn St. Nittany Lions vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs Preview and Predictions 03-27-2018
26th March 2018 by Gracenote
Both Penn State and Mississippi State were hopeful of an NCAA Tournament berth, but they feel their long NIT runs can serve as building blocks for the future. The Bulldogs and Nittany Lions - a pair of fourth-seeded teams to begin the event - meet Tuesday in Madison Square Garden in the NIT semifinals.
"You have to be pretty arrogant to look at the NIT as a consolation prize in my opinion," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland told reporters. "It is a great honor. I have been around long enough to know the history and tradition of the NIT and have coached at a couple other schools that went on to the NIT and used that as a springboard the following year." Nearly all of Howland's rotation figures to be back next season, including Quinndary Weatherspoon, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 79-56 win over Louisville in the quarterfinals last Tuesday. The Nittany Lions also hope to return the bulk of their team next season and two sophomores - Lamar Stevens and Tony Carr - combined for 55 points in the 85-80 win at Marquette in the quarterfinals. The victory pushed Penn State, which won the NIT in its last appearance in 2009, to the semifinals of the event for the sixth time since 1990.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT PENN STATE (24-13): Shep Garner is hoping to extend his collegiate career another game at Madison Square Garden, where he has played five times and averaged 20.2 points, including a career-high 33 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals earlier this month. The team leader had 19 points in the win over Marquette and he has made 24-of-47 from 3-point range since March began. "We definitely want to make the most out of the opportunity that we have here," Carr told reporters when asked about Garner's leadership. "I think this is Shep's first postseason so to just go out with a championship would mean everything to me because I feel like he deserves that. He put in that work."
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (25-11): The Bulldogs' previous four games had been decided by an average of 3.5 points before they held Louisville to 35 percent shooting and had a 42-32 rebounding advantage in the rout. Aric Holman added 16 points and eight rebounds and he is averaging 15 points and 8.7 boards in the tournament. Nick Weatherspoon, Quinndary's younger brother, made 6-of-9 shots against the Cardinals and is 18-of-29 from the floor over a four-game span.
TIP-INS
1. The only prior meeting between the teams was in 1997 in El Paso, Texas, a contest won by the Bulldogs 58-57.
2. Carr is averaging 24.5 points while making 21-of-26 free throws over the last two games.
3. The winner plays either Western Kentucky or Utah in the championship game Thursday night.
PREDICTION: Penn State 73, Mississippi State 71
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NCAAB
Long Sheet
Tuesday, March 27
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W KENTUCKY (27 - 10) vs. UTAH (22 - 11) - 3/27/2018, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
W KENTUCKY is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all games this season.
W KENTUCKY is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) in all lined games this season.
W KENTUCKY is 61-33 ATS (+24.7 Units) in all neutral court games since 1997.
W KENTUCKY is 52-26 ATS (+23.4 Units) in March games since 1997.
W KENTUCKY is 10-3 ATS (+6.7 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
W KENTUCKY is 61-33 ATS (+24.7 Units) when playing on a neutral court since 1997.
W KENTUCKY is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) in non-conference games this season.
W KENTUCKY is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) after scoring 80 points or more this season.
W KENTUCKY is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in all tournament games this season.
W KENTUCKY is 15-7 ATS (+7.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
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MISSISSIPPI ST (25 - 11) vs. PENN ST (24 - 13) - 3/27/2018, 9:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PENN ST is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) in road games in all tournament games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
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NCAAB
Tuesday, March 27
Trend Report
WESTERN KENTUCKY @ UTAH
Western Kentucky is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Western Kentucky is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Utah's last 6 games
Utah is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
MISSISSIPPI STATE @ PENN STATE
Mississippi State is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Mississippi State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Penn State is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Penn State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games