Wichita State (21-14) at Indiana (19-15)
When: Tuesday, March 26th, 2019
Where: Assembly Hall,
Bloomington, Indiana
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Indiana -5.5/138.5
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It has now been three years since the storied program of Indiana University has made the NCAA Tournament, but they have a chance to gather some momentum into next season with a trip to Madison Square Garden and the NIT Semifinals. Standing in their way are the Wichita State Shockers in the quarterfinals Tuesday night at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers are a No. 1 seed in this tournament and easily took care of St. Francis (PA) in the first round then hung on for a 63-60 win over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. Indiana is used to playing close games, as nine of their last 13 have come down to the wire, but they’ve managed to cover the spread in seven of their last nine. Wichita State has had an impressive run thus far and a win in their first ever trip to Bloomington would make them the first team to beat the top three seeds in the first three rounds in the NIT’s 82-year history. The sixth-seeded Shockers have been on the road for their first two wins over Furman (76-70) and Clemson (63-55) and have now been victorious in 13 of their last 16 games after starting conference play 1-6. The teams last met in the 2015 NCAA Tournament when No. 10 Wichita State eliminated No. 7 Indiana in a first round matchup. The winner goes to New York to take on either Lipscomb or North Carolina State.
Guard Dexter Dennis helped Wichita State defeat Clemson on Sunday with nine points and 11 rebounds, as the Shockers defense held Tigers star guard Marcquise Reed to 5-for-20 from the field, while the Tigers shot 28.3 percent overall – the lowest by a Shockers’ opponent this season. Senior and leading scorer Markis McDuffie (18.3) is averaging 18 points during two NIT games, while center Jaime Echenique has combined to score 34 points on 15-for-18 shooting in the two wins. Senior Samajae Haynes-Jones hit a clutch 3-pointer to make it a two possession game with under a minute left and finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hoosiers have won the first two games of this tournament without leading scorer Romeo Langford (16.5 points per game) after the freshman sustained a back injury against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. Langford is listed as questionable for Tuesday, but would get another full week of rest should the Hoosiers advance to New York. Senior Juwan Morgan is the only other double-digit scorer (15.4) and recorded 15 points and seven rebounds Saturday. Junior De’Ron Davis came off the bench to score 10 points in 21 minutes in the win over Arkansas.
Both teams are playing well, but the Shockers are a bit better right now – and healthier. Wichita State is not afraid to play on the road and have all sorts of momentum, covering each of their last eight road games against a team with a winning home record. I’ll take the points.
Pick: Wichita State +4.5
Shockers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Shockers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
Shockers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Shockers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games.
Shockers are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Shockers are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games overall.
Shockers are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 Tuesday games.
Hoosiers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games.
Hoosiers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Tuesday games.
Hoosiers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
Hoosiers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall.
Hoosiers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Over is 6-0 in Shockers last 6 vs. Big Ten.
Over is 4-1 in Shockers last 5 road games.
Over is 4-1 in Shockers last 5 games following a ATS win.
Over is 4-1-1 in Shockers last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Under is 7-2 in Shockers last 9 non-conference games.
Over is 4-1 in Hoosiers last 5 overall.
Under is 10-4 in Hoosiers last 14 non-conference games.
Over is 5-2 in Hoosiers last 7 games following a straight up win.
Under is 11-5 in Hoosiers last 16 home games.
