NIT Free Picks: Quinnipiac vs Virginian Tech

Virginia Tech is in one of those dicey situations. The Hokies were the highest-rated team in the Sagarin ratings to be left out of the NCAA tournament field, and they were making the case to be one of the more credentialed teams. However, a non-conference schedule that was less than impressive, coupled with a loss to Miami in the first-round of the ACC tournament, did them in with the selection committee.

Quinnipiac Bobcats (23-9 SU, 0-3 ATS) at Virginia Tech Hokies (23-8 SU, 13-11-1 ATS)
NIT Tournament
Wednesday, Match 17 - 7 PM ET
: VIRGINIA TECH -13. Total 142

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• QUIN has won five of its last six games SU
• QUIN has won six of its last eight games SU
• VT has won 18 of its last 25 games SU
• VT has lost four of its last six games SU
• VT is 1-3-1 ATS in its last five home games
• VT has won 16 of its last 18 home games SU

The point is, however, that THEY felt they should have been in the NCAA field, so how do they feel about playing once again in the NIT, and against somewhat less-than-inspiring opposition in Quinnipiac, which got to this tournament with an automatic bid by virtue of its Northeast Conference regular season title? Maybe last season's episode can be instructive, as the Gobblers had an unexpected war with Duquesne in first-round action before being dispatched by Baylor.

Obviously the question to ask is whether Quinnipiac, which is known more for its opinion polls than for its basketball team, is proficient enough to take advantage of even a let-down Virginia Tech crew.

This edition of the Bobcats has hung in well when moving up in class, but even that class of opponents can't match what Virginia Tech has to offer. Qunnipiac lost by eight points at Lehigh, three points at Navy, four points at U-Mass, three points at Vermont, and nine points at Rhode Island. That's a good job of staying competitive, and there is no doubt that they are thrilled to be competing in the post-season for the first time, but does this eight-deep team have the athletes to compete well into the second half?

We respect what forward Justin Rutty (15.1ppg, 11 rpg) can do, but it is doubtful that Quinnipiac, which turned the ball over 14 times a game, can deal effectively with VT's quickness on the defensive end, and we wonder who is going to control Malcolm Delaney, who may be a 39% shooter but is one of a select group of players in the ACC who can literally take over a game by himself. Delaney is also one guy who would like to redeem himself, having shot just 20% in the ACC tournament loss to Miami.

Quinnipiac will put forth a valiant effort, but they can't go 40 minutes here. We're laying the points with Virginia Tech, the 13-point favorite in NCAA basketball betting.

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)