NIT Final: Seton Hall vs Indiana State Odds, and Picks (Apr 4)

• Seton Hall stormed past Georgia in the NIT semifinals, winning by a score of 84-67.
• Indiana State claimed a spot in the finals after winning a 100-90 thriller against Utah.
• This will be the very first matchup between these two teams in their program histories.

The National Invitation Tournament has reached its title game! It will feature two of the four teams to barely miss the main tournament, the Seton Hall Pirates and the Indiana State Sycamores. Both will seek to prove the committee wrong by winning it.

How to Watch

• ESPN

Preview

Seton Hall had some of the best wins in the country among the teams that missed the NCAA Tournament, most notably a 15-point victory over UConn. They may have felt snubbed after missing out, but didn’t opt out of the NIT like many of the other top teams. Instead, the Pirates allowed their seniors to keep playing, and have turned their NIT bid into four straight victories and a championship appearance. Unlike past years, it won’t be played at Madison Square Garden, giving them a slight disadvantage.

Indiana State continues to show the world what they missed out on in the NCAA Tournament when the committee chose to leave the Sycamores out. They tallied 100 points in their semifinal clash with Utah. Robbie “Cream Abdul-Jabbar” Avila posted another double-double, racking up 26 points and 10 rebounds. Indiana State also got key performances from Ryan Conwell (27 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) and Julian Larry (15 points, 8 assists). Indiana State has the youth to run it back next season.

Prediction

This should be an excellent NIT Championship Game between two teams that were more than deserving of an NCAA Tournament bid. It could go either way, with both teams performing at high levels. The metrics prefer Indiana State, which ranks about 15 spots higher due to their top-15 offense. They also have the advantage of playing this game in Indiana. That being said, I expect Seton Hall’s defense to cause some troubles. I see the Pirates’ balanced attack earning them the victory and NIT title.

NCAAB Picks:

• Seton Hall 81, Indiana State 77 (HALL +2.5)