NIT Odds: Texas Tech vs Seton Hall

Seton Hall didn't score all that many wins in the Big East, but there were a few big ones. In January, the Pirates posted back-to-back home wins against Louisville and Pittsburgh, and beat Notre Dame a couple of weeks later. They didn't do a whole lot in the Big East tournament, turning back Providence in a wild one before losing the rematch with the Irish.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (17-15 SU, 15-11 ATS) at Seton Hall Pirates (19-12 SU, 8-17 ATS)
NIT Opening Round

NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: SETON HALL -9

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

• TT has lost eight of its last nine games SU
• TT has covered four of its last six road games
• TT has lost ten of its last 12 road games SU

• SH has covered three of its last 11 games
• SH has won seven of its last ten games SU
• SH has played four of its last five games OVER the total
• SH is 0-6 ATS in its last six home games
• SH has won seven of its last eight home games SU
• SH has played four of its last five home games OVER the total

This was not a good team when it came to covering in the NCAA basketball lines. The Pirates were just 8-17 ATS altogether and failed to beat the number in each of their last six home games. Whether they will get overwhelming support at the Prudential Center in Newark is a question. However, Seton Hall is an interesting team in that they are capable of putting up a lot of points (averaging 80.5 ppg for the year) but has won important games playing at a rather slow pace.

The 1-2 punch for Bobby Gonzalez's team is guard Jeremy Hazell, who throws up a lot of threes and scores 20 points a game, and Herb Pope, the inside guy who averaged 11 rebounds per contest. Robert Mitchell, the swingman who was one of the first people off the bench, was dismissed from the team when he became disgruntled during the Big East tournament and made some comments that were out of line. His loss hurts, but it is not a killer.

It would be tough to have finished on a worse note than the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who at one point had been ranked #19 in the country. Things fell apart as Texas Tech lost seven straight to end the regular season. They did recover somewhat to beat Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 tourney, then gave #1 Kansas some anxious moments before losing 80-68 to be eliminated.

I know the NIT has always been a tournament held in high regard by Pat Knight's father Bob, and with the program having missed the post-season for the last two seasons, the younger Knight says his team is very excited to be involved. Seton Hall's inability to cover numbers has to be noted, as should the fact that Texas Tech won't be so shocked to encounter a team that plays at this kind of tempo. We can take the points here with the Red Raiders, the nine-point underdog in the NCAA March Madness betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: TEXAS TECH +9 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)