NIT Quarterfinals Odds and Picks

While the NCAA Tournament is down to the Sweet Sixteen, the NIT has just eight teams left in its tournament. Only four teams will be able to square off at Madison Square Garden next week though, and the games we see over the next couple days will determine which teams will head to the Big Apple. The only No. 1 seed left at this point is Texas A&M, so the Aggies are one of the overall favorites at SugarHouse Sportsbook by the college basketball live odds.

The NIT Quarterfinals will take place on March 22-23 from campus sites. The winners will go on to take part in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday, March 29, and the winners of those games will meet in the NIT Championship Game on Thursday, March 31.

NIT Quarterfinals Preview

Tuesday, March 22

No. 5 St. Bonaventure Bonnies at No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Virginia had a disappointing season in the ACC, but the Cavaliers have proved they can win close games against other teams. Tony Bennett’s pack-line defense is extremely difficult for most opponents to deal with if they don’t have elite talent, and that helped the Cavaliers squeak out wins over Mississippi State and North Texas earlier in this competition. They don’t shoot the ball particularly well, but they play good defense.

The Atlantic 10 was very good this season, and St. Bonaventure is proving that to be true. The Bonnies knocked off Boise State, Clemson, and Marquette on a neutral court just before Thanksgiving, and they went on the road to take down Colorado and top seed Oklahoma last week. This team isn’t very deep though as their four guards all average at least 37 minutes a game. Senior Jalen Adaway is the best three-point shooter and leading scorer, so UVA will focus on him.

No. 4 Vanderbilt Commodores at No. 2 Xavier Musketeers, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

NBA great Jerry Stackhouse didn’t have a lot of success with Vanderbilt in the SEC this year. However, the Commodores are steadily improving under Stackhouse, and they posted a winning record for the first time in his three-year tenure. They needed to win two games in the SEC Tournament in order to make it to the postseason, and they proved they belong with wins over Belmont and Dayton.

The college basketball odds predictions were wrong about Xavier. Many thought the Musketeers would pack it in after a crushing loss to Butler in the Big East Tournament left them out of the NCAA Tournament. However, they were able to survive the disappointment by knocking off Cleveland State before hammering Florida on Sunday. They will be favored by the NCAA betting odds in this game.

Wednesday, March 23

No. 2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons at No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

This is the only region in which the chalk held up. Texas A&M is the only No. 1 seed to reach the NIT quarterfinals, and the Aggies have been able to continue their momentum from the SEC Tournament. They have moved up to No. 48 in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, and they easily took care of business against Alcorn State and Oregon.

However, Wake Forest is going to be a difficult foe. The Demon Deacons are the top-ranked team in the NIT according to Pomeroy, and they have an extremely efficient frontcourt with a ton of big bodies. Wake Forest is making almost 60% of its two-point field goals, so the visitors are a nice upset pick on Wednesday. Additionally, while the SEC has been very disappointing, the ACC has looked strong in the postseason tournaments.

No. 4 Washington State Cougars at No. 2 BYU Cougars, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Get your Cougars jokes ready for the final NIT quarterfinal on Wednesday night. There isn’t much separating BYU and Washington State according to Pomeroy’s rankings. BYU does have home court advantage though, and they used that to their advantage all season with its only two home losses coming against San Francisco and Gonzaga.

Washington State hasn’t been able to beat solid teams until the NIT got underway. The Cougars knocked off Santa Clara and SMU, but BYU looks to be a bridge too far.