Bradley (21-16, 20-14-1 ATS) at Tulsa (24-14, 19-13 ATS)
The inaugural College Basketball Invitational comes to an end with Game 3 of the best-of-three championship series, after Bradley beat Tulsa 83-74 Wednesday night as a 5½-point home chalk to tie the series. The Braves have cashed in both games in this series, dropping the opener on Monday 73-68 but covering the 5½-point spread at Tulsa. Bradley is 4-1 SU and ATS in the CBI.
Tulsa, which had won its first four games of the CBI (3-1 ATS), has now suffered back-to-back ATS setbacks on the heels of a 13-2 ATS run. The Golden Hurricane are 14-4 SU in their last 18 starts overall.
Wednesday’s outcome continued a strong trend for both teams, as the straight-up winner has been a spread-covering machine, going 11-1 ATS in Tulsa’s last 12 matchups and 14-4 ATS in Bradley’s last 18 contests.
The Braves are on a 16-5 ATS surge, and they are on additional positive ATS runs of 8-2 on the highway, 8-4-1 in non-conference play, 11-2 as a road pup of less than seven points, 13-3 against winning teams and a lengthy 38-16-2 after a SU win.
The Golden Hurricane are 17-2 at home (11-4 ATS in lined contests) and sport numerous positive pointspread trends, including 9-1 at the Reynolds Center, 8-1 as a favorite of less than seven points, 17-5 as a chalk of any number, 10-4 against winning teams and 5-2 outside Conference USA. One negative note: With the two non-covers in this series, Tulsa is now 1-4-1 ATS in its last six against Missouri Valley Conference teams.
Bradley is on a 19-5 “over” tear, with the Braves topping the total in 13 of their last 14 starts, including the last four in a row. Also, the over for Bradley is on runs of 20-8-1 in non-conference games and 7-0 on the highway. For Tulsa, the over is on a 7-3-1 run in non-conference play. Finally, both contests in this series have gone high, with Wednesday’s clash sailing over the 142½-point posted price.
ATS ADVANTAGE: TULSA and OVER
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