The two Summit League semifinals were both decided by a single point on Monday night, and that could set Tuesday night's duel between the North Dakota State Bison and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits up to be a classic.
You can bet on college basketball odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
HOW THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Bison were down by as many as 16 points against IPFW on Monday night and had to fight back to secure the mild upset. They didn't get away from who they are offensively, and they started turning defense and rebounding into offense and easy buckets when things started to get a little bit out of hand.
Though it was Khy Kabellis and Kory Brown who did all the damage with a combined 41 points for NDSU, they can't be counted upon for such big games from a scoring perspective. Sure, these men are second and third on the team in scoring at this point, but A.J. Jacobson is going to have to be the difference-maker, particularly if leading scorer Paul Miller remains suspended for the finale.
Miller's suspension came as a bit of a surprise, and he's considered a game-time decision for Tuesday's finale.
HOW THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
NDSU's run on Monday night might've been impressive, but it's worth remembering that South Dakota State had to put forth just as much effort in its comeback. The Jacks were behind by 13 at the under 12:00 timeout against upstart Denver, and they had to go on a big run the rest of the way to survive the upset bid.
The Jackrabbits had their share of troubles which cannot repeat themselves if they want to win the Summit League on Tuesday night. George Marshall, for starters, can't go 0-for-9 from the field. SDSU's offense isn't nearly the same when he isn't producing, though we don't know many teams in the land who would look good when a man averaging 15 points per game puts up a goose egg.
The Jackrabbits only hit 15 shots against Denver the whole night, six of which came from long range. They often become a little dependent on the three-point shot, and a night after IPFW fell into the same trap of shooting far too many threes against North Dakota State, the Jacks could end up in the same predicament.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
This game really is just a matter of which team is going to rebound from its emotional high of Monday night and have anything left in the tank to fight on for 40 more minutes.
North Dakota State is good enough to win this game, but we don't think it can do it without Miller in the lineup. The timing of his suspension is peculiar, as he did play in the opening round of this tournament before getting suspended. Though he's officially a question mark, we doubt he does more than maybe come off the bench.
A team like South Dakota State which still has three great scorers with Marshall, Mike Daum and Deondre Parks could be too much to handle even if the Bison were at full strength. Without their best scorer and their biggest long range threat, they might be overmatched.
South Dakota State 74, North Dakota State 64
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform.
Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so starting betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the North Dakota State Bison and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits will go down on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. You can watch the game live on ESPN2.
