With March Madness fast approaching everyone should be looking to find out who will be the contenders and pretenders in the Big Dance. Friday we have a matchup of two mid-majors that are likely to make some news in the tournament.
Old Dominion (21-7, 13-3 t-1st in Colonial) @ Northern Iowa (23-3, 14-2 1st in Missouri Valley)
NCAA Basketball Odds (*note lines are approximations as they have not been posted at the time of writing)
BetPhoenix Spread (BetPhoenix Reviews): Northern Iowa -3
Over/Under: 125
Money line: Northern Iowa -140, Old Dominion + 115
Old Dominion Monarchs
ODU is led by an experienced group of leaders. Senior F/C Gerald Lee leads the Monarchs with 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. The Finnish import’s size has given his opponents fits in the CAA. Junior G/F Ben Finney has the ability to contribute in many different ways as he’s averaging just less than 10 points and 6 rebounds with 2.3 assists a game. Finney posted a seven assist game last week against George Mason and is very physical. The Monarchs play extremely well together and they all crash the boards well with 4 players over 5 boards a game in the starting five.
Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa clinched the regular season title in the MVC in their last game. The Panthers were without senior C Jonathan Eglseder, who was suspended for a DWI last week Northern Iowa, and will be out for this matchup as well. Northern Iowa is currently the #24 team in the country but will have a tough test in ODU without their leader and big man. F Adam Koch will have to contribute more than his share and G Kwazdo Ahelegbe will have to be sharp as both will need to score more than their usual low double digit average.
Prediction
Without Eglseder NIU was able to clinch a ticket to the tournament. ODU still needs a little help. They are currently tied with Northeastern in the Colonial and have lost to them. Helping ODU’s cause is an early season victory over Georgetown but this is a game many will look at to see if the Monarchs are worthy of the tourney if they cannot slip past Northeastern by season’s end. Northern Iowa has spoken about how they need to keep the pressure on for the rest of the season because they don’t want a low seed in the tournament. Without their leader at home against a hungry team that has not clinched anything just yet maybe too tall of an order. This game will come down to the wire at the Panthers’ home court, but you have to like ODU in this matchup.
Final: Old Dominion 68 – Northern Iowa 63
Betting Take: Take ODU and the over in this game.
Tournament implications: Both of these two teams are capable of making the sweet sixteen depending on their draw. I expect Northern Iowa to get a six seed if they lose this game and a five if they win. ODU will get in as a 13 or 14 seed most likely…if they get in…which means they need to win this game.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.