The NIT title will be handed out on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in what could be a fantastic game between the Valparaiso Crusaders and the George Washington Colonials.
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HOW THE GEORGE WASHINGTON COLONIALS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Colonials were always going to be tough to play against on short rest, and Valpo is going to find that out. G-Dub has a huge front line with Kevin Larsen and Tyler Cavanaugh, and four of its five starters run at least at 6-foot-6 with the diminutive Joe McDonald serving as the only shrimp on the floor.
Larsen and Cavanaugh have been fantastic, as one of the two has logged a double-double in all of the NIT games played thus far. Valpo has one of the best rebounding margins in the nation though, so Larsen and Cavanaugh are going to be tested where they do their most damage for sure. If these two can figure out how to breakthrough and build a nice post presence with having to rely upon too many outside shots, George Washington will have a great chance to end its season with the NIT title.
HOW THE VALPARAISO CRUSADERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
It's easy to say now that Valpo should've been in the NCAA Tournament, but it's really leaving any doubt at this point. Sure, the Crusaders haven't played any tremendous teams, but they manhandled a good St. Mary's outfit in the quarterfinals of the NIT, and they would've been incredibly unlucky had they been bounced by BYU in the semifinals.
Sure, the Valparaiso didn't do a good job holding onto a 14-point halftime lead, one which was virtually gone in a matter of mere minutes in the second half, but we have no doubt which team was the better of the two having watched the game.
What was most impressive is that the Crusaders figured out how to win on a night where Alec Peters was nothing special. Peters is the heart and soul of this team, and we think he's going to need to get into the 20s in scoring in this one for the Crusaders to triumph, but an even better sign would be if the rest of the mates he's got around him, particularly Vashil Fernandez in the paint, are adding solid offensive contributions.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
George Washington might've figured out how to win a slugfest with San Diego State on Tuesday, but we don't think it can do that two games in a row.
The Colonials aren't a heck of a lot if they aren't getting good play from their bigs, and the Crusaders have consistently figured out how to do enough on the offensive end to win games in spite of the slow pace.
George Washington is too thin and doesn't have enough places to turn to for instant offense if the Valpo defense which has held teams to just 38.3 percent shooting this season is really locked in. We expect to see the motivated Crusaders walk out of MSG with the NIT title as a nice consolation prize in a season which fell short of their goals in the Horizon League Tournament.
Valparaiso 66, George Washington 58
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so starting betting with BookMaker today! The NIT Championship Game between the George Washington Colonials and the Valparaiso Crusaders will go down on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. You can watch the game live on ESPN.
