NIT Betting Odds and Picks: Arkansas at California
The NIT takes center stage as the NCAA Tournament takes a few days off to get ready for the Sweet Sixteen. Late tonight the Arkansas Razorbacks will visit the Cal Golden Bears in second round action. The NIT doesn’t get a lot of attention with the NCAA Tournament going on at the same time, but there are some good games in this tournament and if you win money on those games it spends just as good as NCAA money.
These two teams have to be wondering what might have been as they watch the Big Dance. The Hogs are watching while the Kentucky Wildcats, a team they beat twice, play on in the Sweet Sixteen. Arkansas could have made the NCAA Tournament had they not had a dismal loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the last regular season game and to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first game of the SEC Tournament. Those were two terrible losses to close the season and yet the Hogs were still a# seed in the NIT. Had they won those two games and perhaps knocked off someone like the Tennessee Volunteers, another team playing in the Sweet Sixteen, who knows? At the very least had they not lost those two games they may have been playing at home tonight.
The Bears are watching as their arch-rival, the Stanford Cardinal is in the Sweet Sixteen as well as fellow PAC 12 members, the UCLA Bruins and Arizona Wildcats. The Bears last regular season game was a one point win over the Colorado Buffaloes to make them 19-12. But they then lost to the Buffaloes in the opening round of he PAC 12 Tournament and the Buffaloes got on of the last NCAA bids. They then went to Orlando and laid an egg, bowing out to the Pitt Panthers 77-48.
Cal advanced to tonight’s second round game with a 77-64 win over Utah Valley, David Kravish had a double double in the win with 14 points and 10 rebounds and he added a career high five blocked shots. Arkansas advanced to the second round with a win over Indiana State 91-71. Arkansas advanced to the second round with a win over Indiana State 91-71. Anthlon Bell led Arkansas with 28 points in the win.
Bovada has odds on tonight’s game. They have Arkansas +2.5 EVEN and Cal -2.5 EVEN ATS. Over/Under on the game is 152.5 with over -115 and under -105. We are going to go with Arkansas -2.5 and the over -115.
