Winning the NIT isn't a terrible consolation prize for the season, and just reaching the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden is a great accomplishment for both the BYU Cougars and the Valparaiso Crusaders.
These two mid-majors will match wits on Tuesday night with a shot at reaching the tournament's finale.
NIT Odds at BookMaker.eu
BYU Cougars PK
Valparaiso Crusaders PK
Over/Under 146
HOW THEY GOT HERE
BYU's offense has been out of this world of late. We've always known this to be one of the most talented teams in the land from a scoring perspective, and dropping 88 on Creighton in the quarterfinals of the NIT was just the icing on the cake after cruising past Virginia Tech and UAB in the first two rounds of the tournament.
The Cougs know that they have to get their offense going again if they want to win here at MSG, as their defense has allowed at least 77 points in four straight games dating back to the WCC Tournament against Gonzaga. Live bettors will want to follow the trends of this offense closely as this game goes on.
Valpo has taken the exact opposite route to reach the NIT Final Four. The Crusaders used their defense to take out Texas Southern, Florida State and St. Mary's, but they'll want to play better offensively in this one than they did against the Gaels when they scored just 60 points and shot just 5-of-19 from beyond the arc.
KEY MATCHUP
It would've been so much fun to watch Alec Peters in the NCAA Tournament, but alas, the Selection Committee had other ideas. The big man has now scored 20+ points each of his last seven games, and he has at least 25 in five of those seven. His three-point shooting has been spot on throughout, and he's one of the many Crusaders who can step back and knock down a big outside shot when given the chance to do so.
BYU's perimeter defense is typically good at 33.1 percent, but we know that this could get ugly in a hurry if the Cougs aren't careful. The Crusaders only have 19 threes in three NIT games thus far, but they could go on a flurry at any given time, and Peters is a big part of all of that.
Kyle Collinsworth isn't quite big enough to defend against Peters, while Kyle Davis isn't fast enough to guard him out on the perimeter, so matching up with Valpo's leading scorer could end up being the key to live betting in this game.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
It's worth noting that the Cougars have pulled back the minutes of some of their stars in this tournament. Collinsworth didn't even start against Creighton, and that led to bigger minutes for Corbin Kaufusi and Zac Seljaas. If these two men are going to end up getting more playing time in this game, we could really see Valpo taking advantage, as Collinsworth is the do-it-all of this squad and the closest comparison to Peters on the other side.
You think of the play of BYU and immediately point towards over games, but Valpo is the team that live bettors have to watch out for when it comes to the over. The Crusaders have put six of their last eight games past the total dating back to the end of the regular season.
It should also be noted though, that the Crusaders head into the NIT Final Four having been on a bit of an ATS swoon. They failed to cover all of their games in the Horizon League Tournament, and they failed against Texas Southern in the NIT opener as well. That said, they did cover against both FSU and St. Mary's and will look to do the same in this game against BYU.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The NIT Final Four matchup between the BYU Cougars and Valparaiso Crusaders will go down Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
