The No. 2 Xavier Musketeers (18-13) will take on the No. 7 Cleveland State Vikings (20-10) in the Upper Left bracket of the NIT first round. Tip-off from Cintas Center is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Cleveland State vs. Xavier odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Xavier likely would have been in the NCAA Tournament had it taken down Butler in its first Big East Tournament action. The Muskateers lost 89-82 in overtime despite being 6-point favorites and leading by 4 with under 30 seconds left to play.
The Musketeers rank 60th in Kenpom, having the 41st-best adjusted offensive efficiency. They ended the season covering just 1 of their last 7 games and with an overall against the spread (ATS) record of 14-17.
Kenpom has Cleveland State at 203rd, with the 168th-best offensive efficiency. The Vikings lost by 15 in the Horizon League Tournament to Wright State, a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, .
Cleveland State was just 13-15 ATS on the season. Its strong suit this year has been its shooting as CSU hit 48% of its field goal attempts, the 22nd-best percentage in the nation.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Cleveland State at Xavier odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Cleveland State +440 (bet $100 to win $440) | Xavier -650 (bet $650 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Cleveland State +11.5 (-110) | Xavier -11.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
[tipico]
Cleveland State at Xavier odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Xavier 79, Cleveland State 65
Money line
PASS.
Xavier is 2-8 over its last 10. However, those were all Big East games.
Nonetheless, it cannot be trusted, and the only playable side is Cleveland State +440. I’d rather play the points either way, especially since the Vikings are 5-6 on the road.
Against the spread
BET on XAVIER -11.5 (-110).
Xavier will be at home in this battle, a place it is 13-5 straight up on the season. Cleveland State is just 5-6 SU on the road and just 6-5 ATS on the road.
The Vikings didn’t play many Power 5 schools, so it’s tough to gauge how competitive they could be. They lost to Oklahoma State by 5 earlier in the year and lost to BYU by 10.
Xavier beat up on non-conference opponents, going a Big East-best 9-2 ATS in non-conference games, many of which were early-season beatdowns against mid-major opponents.
The real issue here will be size. Cleveland State’s 6-foot-9 F Deante Johnson is the only player that gets consistent minutes and stands over 6-foot-5. Xavier’s leading scorer is C Jack Nunge who stands 7-foot.
The Musketeers will dwarf the Vikings and should come out on top in a landslide victory.
Over/Under
PASS.
I don’t trust Cleveland State to score its average of 75.6, mainly due to the size of Nunge.
Also, Xavier was just 5-6 O/U against non-conference opponents. Cleveland State is 10-2 O/U in its last 12 games, but those have been against smaller Horizon League programs.
The Musketeers will have a major size advantage, and I’d prefer to play them to win by more than 11.
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