The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (12-22) battle the Montana State Bobcats (24-9) in the Big Sky Tournament Championship Game Wednesday. Tip from Idaho Central Arena is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Northern Arizona vs. Montana State odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Northern Arizona edged past Eastern Washington 81-80 as a 7.5-point underdog Sunday in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament and took down Montana 83-71 Tuesday as a 5.5-point underdog to advance to the title game. The Lumberjacks are 6-4 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games to improve to 19-12-1 ATS this season.
Montana State beat Northern Colorado 84-7 as an 8.5-point favorite Sunday in its opener and beat Weber State 60-58 in overtime on Tuesday but failed to cover as a 5.5-point favorite as it advanced to the championship. The Bobcats are just 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games but are 19-11-1 ATS on the season.
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Northern Arizona vs. Montana State odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated 1:15 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Northern Arizona +225 (bet $100 to win $225) | Montana State -350 (bet $350 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Northern Arizona +7.5 (-110) | Montana State -7.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 135.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Northern Arizona vs. Montana State picks and predictions
Prediction
Montana State 73, Northern Arizona 65
Moneyline
PASS.
Montana State (-350) should emerge with the victory but there is no need to risk 3 1/2 times your potential return when it should win by margin. Focus on the spread and/or total instead.
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Against the spread
LEAN MONTANA STATE -7.5 (-110).
The Bobcats are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games against a team with a losing record and are 11-7 ATS this season when favored by 5 or more points.
The Bobcats’ offense ranks 122nd in the nation in points per game (73.9) while the Lumberjacks’ defense ranks just 292nd in opponent points per game (74.4). Expect the Bobcats to overwhelm the Lumberjacks on the offensive side of the court to put this game out of reach in the closing minutes.
Over/Under
BET OVER 135.5 (-105).
The Over is 5-0 in the Lumberjacks’ last 5 games, 5-0 in their last 5 games following an outright victory, 6-0 in their last 6 games following an ATS victory and 4-0 in their last 4 neutral site games.
For the Bobcats, the Over is 5-2 in their last 7 games following an outright victory and 4-0 in their last 4 Wednesday games.
The Over is a combined 7-3 between the Lumberjacks and Bobcats at neutral sites this season and a combined 3-1 in tournament play so far.
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