UAB vs Utah Valley Odds
| UAB Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-4.5 -115 | 151 -110o / -110u | -120 |
| Utah Valley Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+4.5 -105 | 151 -110o / -110u | +175 |
UAB and Utah Valley meet in Las Vegas on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
The Blazers were a win away from clinching an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but they have rebounded with wins over Southern Miss, Morehead State and Vanderbilt to own a 28-9 record.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines are looking to cap off their historic season with a title, defeating New Mexico, Colorado and Cincinnati to book their place in the semifinals.
This should be a much different game from the first one of the night, with both of these squads looking to push the pace and get out in transition. Once you add in the terrific scorers, this should be an entertaining contest at the Orleans Arena.
UAB Blazers
Veteran head coach Andy Kennedy has guided his team to the NIT semifinals for the third time in program history, but can the Blazers take it one step further with a championship?
Kennedy has a deep, veteran squad that is well-balanced, ranking inside the Top 50 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
This is also the same team that is inside the Top 70 in other metrics on defense, including EFG% (45th) and opponents’ 2-point (47th) and 3-point shooting (63rd).
The offense is led by Jordan “Jelly” Walker, who comes into this game ranked fourth nationally in points per game (22.5) and third in 3-pointers per contest (4.23).
Utah Valley Wolverines
What a season Utah Valley has had under coach Mark Madsen, who has been named a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award given to the top mid-major coach.
The 28 wins are the most in school history, and the Wolverines boast the most road wins in the country with 12. They also claimed their third Western Athletic Conference regular season title and second under Madsen.
Madsen’s squad has been strong defensively, ranking in the Top 30 in AdjD (25th), EFG% (4th) and opponents’ 2-point (3rd) and 3-point% (27th), according to Bart Torvik.
It helps when you have the WAC Defensive Player of the Year on your roster in Aziz Bandaogo, who is third in the country in blocks (105) and 11th in rebounds per game (10.2). In fact, Utah Valley is the top shot-blocking team in the nation with 237 blocks and 6.6 blocks per game.
UAB vs Utah Valley Betting Pick
C-USA has been the standout conference in the postseason tournaments so far, and it really pains me to try to oppose UAB here. However, I do think this line is a bit inflated in this matchup.
So, my best bet is to take Utah Valley on a spread of +3, which I would play to +2.5.
If you are looking to get behind the Wolverines, I would wait until closer to tip, because the Blazers have received late betting attention over the last few games in this tournament. We could get a better number later.
I just think the metrics of the two squads are very similar over the last month of the season. Plus, Utah Valley has played in this arena before, which should help it in this neutral-site game.
It wouldn’t shock me if the under was the right play on the total with these defenses, but these schools play at too fast of tempos to feel comfortable with that.
Pick: Utah Valley +2.5 or Better |
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