2012 NIT Championship Betting Odds

Carrie Stroup here with your 2012 NIT Championship betting odds for the Stanford vs. Minnesota game.  Get all the latest basketball betting lines at Sportsbook.com here and claim up to $250 in FREE CASH when you open an online account (restrictions do apply). 

Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Minnesota -1.5 & 131.5

Opening Line & Total: Pick ‘em & 131

After needing overtime to outlast Washington in the semifinals, sixth-seeded Minnesota looks to capture the NIT Championship when it faces third-seeded Stanford on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Despite playing without its two best frontcourt players in this tournament (Trevor Mbawke and Ralph Sampson III), Tubby Smith’s Gophers have found a way to win all four of their NIT games, despite not playing any of them at home. Minnesota is now 7-0 ATS (6-1 SU) in March, outscoring these teams by 7.0 PPG (74.1 PPG to 67.1 PPG). Despite missing the 6-foot-11 Sampson III for the past six contests, the Gophers have hung tough on the glass, outrebounding these half-dozen opponents by a whopping 8.3 RPG. Stanford does not have great size down low and shoots much worse (44.5% FG for the season, 36.9% FG on Tuesday) than Minnesota (46.5% FG). The Gophers have connected on a stellar 50.5% FG in the NIT and are more battle-tested going up against great Big Ten schools, as opposed to Stanford, which finished 10-8 in a dreadful Pac-12 Conference this season.

The Cardinal are led down low by 6-foot-8 senior C/F Josh Owens (11.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG) who is coming off his best game of the tournament with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the 74-64 semifinal win over UMass. Owens has averaged 13.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 2.5 SPG in the NIT. The team’s top scorer, freshman G Chasson Randle (13.8 PPG), is dangerous from beyond the arc, making 43.4% of his shots from deep. He’s averaging 13.8 PPG in the NIT, drilling 8-of-18 three-point tries. Randle also had six boards and three steals in Tuesday’s win. The team’s other double-digit scorer is sophomore PG Aaron Bright (11.6 PPG, 3.6 APG) who also shoots well from deep (43.4% 3-pt FG). Bright has averaged a hefty 17.3 PPG on a sizzling 66% FG in the NIT, scoring in double-figures in all four games. This includes a 29-point showing on 11-of-13 FG against Illinois State in the Second Round. He’ll need to take better care of the basketball though, as he has nearly as many turnovers (12) as assists (15) in the NIT, and his team committed 17 turnovers against the Minutemen. Sophomore swingman Anthony Brown (8.0 PPG) also had a big night at MSG on Tuesday, scoring 18 points on 7-of-12 FG.

Since losing Trevor Mbakwe earlier in the year to a knee injury, the entire Minnesota squad has done a great job adjusting to its offensive attack without its star player. Much of the team’s offensive surge is due to junior F Rodney Williams (12.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG), who is having an unbelievable tournament with 21.0 PPG on 62% FG. He scored 18 points and pulled down nine boards in Tuesday’s win over Washington. But Williams has had help, especially from the all-Hollins backcourt. The two brothers (Andre and Austin) combined for 32 points on 11-of-22 FG against the Huskies. Freshman Andre had 20 points (7-of-7 FT) and five assists, increasing his NIT averages to 17.8 PPG and 3.5 APG. Sophomore Austin scored a dozen points (5-of-8 FG) to give him 11.5 PPG in the four tournament games.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter