The Baylor Bears will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night in the championship game of the NIT on the college basketball betting lines at the sportsbooks.
Baylor knocked off BYU in the semifinals of the NIT on Tuesday night, winning 76-70 as a 3-point favorite on the betting lines in the contest. Iowa is coming off a 71-60 win over Maryland as a 3-point favorite in their semifinal matchup on Tuesday night.
The Bears bring a 22-14 record (16-15 ATS) to this tilt against the 25-12 Hawkeyes, who are 24-9 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have witnessed Baylor go 16-13-1 so far and the Hawkeyes go 13-19-1.
View Iowa vs Baylor Odds and Stats.
NIT championship game odds: The spread was expected to open around a PK, but was quickly bet to -2.5 for Iowa (with a total up to 141.5 as of Thursday afternoon). Watch for Sportsbook line moves during the day to see where the NIT point spread ends up.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
It's a betting matchup between the No. 19-rated Bears and the No. 25-ranked Hawkeyes, according to the latest pro hoops power rankings here at Odds Shark. Prediction formulas run on this game indicate a possible 78-77 result in favor of the Bears.
How They Match Up:
In the paint, the rebound battle will feature Baylor's No. 49-rated squad against Iowa's No. 13-rated roster. And in long-range shooting, Baylor rates No. 87 in the country with 7 per game, while their foes tonight rank No. 259 nationally with 5.4 per match.
Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Iowa owns the country's No. 145-rated mark, allowing 68.6 points per game on the highway. Baylor, on the other hand, rates No. 29 in scoring at home.
Iowa was a 71-60 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against Maryland. They covered the 3.5-point spread as favorites. The Hawkeyes grabbed a 71-60 win over the Terrapins on Tuesday, behind a 21-point effort from Roy Devyn Marble at Madison Square Garden.
Baylor was a 76-70 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against BYU. They covered the 3.5-point spread as favorites. Pierre Jackson scored 24 points and added 10 assists for a double-double, leading Baylor over BYU, 76-70, on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
