Indiana State vs. Seton Hall prediction: NIT title game glory awaits

Multiple times each week, The Gaming Juice’s resident action seeker, Brad Evans, will attempt to blast the ‘books with his favorite selections on sides, totals, props, teasers or parlays. As always, fade or follow Brad’s picks — fading is encouraged — but that’s up to you.

Sledgehammer Special — Indiana State -2.5 vs. Seton Hall (-110, FanDuel)

On Selection Sunday, the argument was warranted and strong.

Indiana State and Seton Hall had debatable resumes with viable selling points for at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament. They waited anxiously, but their names were never called. Instead, teams like Colorado State, Colorado and, for what can only be described as masochistic reasons, Virginia were given First Four spots in Dayton.

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Clearly motivated by being overlooked, the Sycamores and Pirates are set to engage in a battle of blues inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Thursday. The winner will bask in NIT title glory. The loser will head home pondering “What if?”

Just down the street from a certain International Speedway, the action in Indianapolis is sure to have “500” feels. Both squads can score. Both prefer a brisk pace. Both repeatedly rain triples. With a total sitting in the high-150s, even the NBA-only crowd would find this matchup compelling.

The boys from Larry Bird U are one of the nation’s most captivating offensive teams. The spacing. The sets. The execution. Indiana State is a bucket-getting machine that constantly revs the engine at a high RPM.

Over the last month, Josh Schertz’s crew has netted an eye-popping 1.270 points per possession. Ranking No. 4 nationally in effective field-goal percentage offense, the Sycamores shot an almost inconceivable 64.9% from two and 38.9% from three.

More than just Milk Chamberlain (aka Robbie Avila), Indiana State boasts Ryan Conwell, Isaiah Swope, Julian Larry, Jayson Kent and Xavier Bledsoe. The Sycamores move the ball with pinpoint precision, create space with screens, speed through lanes, bury open threes and flat-out score. Over their four-game NIT stretch, they’re averaging a ridiculous 90.5 points.

Seton Hall wields a sharpened cutlass of its own offensively. Over the last eight games, the Pirates tallied 1.184 points per possession, converting 49.5% from two and 39.4% from three. Shaheen Holloway’s big three of Al-Amir Dawes, Kadary Richmond and Dre Davis have been nothing short of spectacular.

Saint Joseph’s challenged Seton Hall in the NIT first round, pushing the contest to overtime. Since then, the Pirates have earned their rum, winning by an average margin of 18 points.

Indiana State must be assertive defensively on the glass and along the arc in order to take home the hardware. The Pirates’ efforts in both areas are quite questionable. Still, with Terre Haute only an hour away, the 15,000 fans packed into Hinkle will be overwhelmingly partisan.

In a memorable season, the Sycamores scribble a storybook ending with a 33rd victory.

Hey, Selection Committee members, let this be yet another reminder of your atrocious failure.

Season record: 32-31, +6.50 units