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The NCAA Tournament may be winding down, but additional basketball opportunities are available. What random bet has the attention of The Gaming Juice’s Brad Evans? He discusses the favorite in the NIT championship game.
Chattanooga (28-9) vs. UC Irvine (32-6)
Date: Thursday, April 3
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
The pick — UC Irvine ML, Game UNDER 153.5 (+104, Caesars)
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Fading the Noise.
As the record below and picks spreadsheet clearly show, those who’ve bet the opposite of yours truly during the college basketball tournament season have profited and done so handsomely.
A corpse entombed in a basement freezer chest, this -EV bettor is ice cold. NCAAs, NIT, Crown — it doesn’t matter. Whatever sound reasoning I have provided has quickly been proven to be misguided.
Firing off on another surefire loser, this gambler is hopeful UC Irvine initiates a much-needed thaw.
Counter to what the school nickname may suggest, the Anteaters hardly suck.
Blessed with twin towers — Bent Leuchten and Kyle Evans stand 7-foot-1 and 6-10, respectively — Russell Turner’s club typically pounds the paint. Over its last nine games, UCI has converted a robust 53.7% on 2-pointers. Unsurprisingly, it also destroys opponents at the free-throw line, where it has produced 21.6% of its points this season.
On the defensive end, Irvine excels in rim protection. It enters the NIT final ranked No. 1 nationally in near-proximity D, according to Haslametrics.
Outside carpet bombs could easily keep Chattanooga within striking defense. The Anteaters have given up an uncomfortable 39.3% shooting on 3s since March 1.
Also, the Mocs — who are spearheaded by sharpshooter Honor Huff — feature four players who gun at least 35% beyond the arc. As a collective, Chattanooga has netted a white-hot 41.0% from distance in their last seven games.
Still, the Big (emphasis on BIG) West reps have a decisive size advantage. Among the Mocs players who’ve logged at least 30% of the team’s minutes, forward Sean Cusano is the tallest at 6-9.
At historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, Irvine proves divine.
Season record: 33-34, -2.58 units