College Basketball NIT Action

Can you feel the excitement with college basketball betting just around the corner? OK, it’s still around the block, but it’s fast approaching, and there’s nothing that gives us that hope like announcements, like this week’s unveiling of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament bracket seedings. And surprise, surprise, Duke takes the top seed, followed by No. 2 Connecticut, No. 3 LSU and No. 4 Arizona State. It’s a 16-team field that will see these top four teams playing regional games (at home) starting Nov. 16. The semi-finals and finals of this quick tournament will be conducted at Madison Square Garden and finish up on Nov. 27.

Arizona State hosts the “Western” bracket, which also includes Cal State-Northridge, TCU and Texas State. The “states” will go head-to-head in the first round and seventh-seeded Cal State-Northridge faces TCU.

Joining Connecticut at No. 2 seeds are TCU, UNC Charlotte, Hofstra and Western Kentucky.

This is one of those tournaments everybody loves to watch, not so much because of the heated competition, but because it signals that the 2009-2010 NCAA basketball season is in full swing.

So who has the edge here? As we all know, anything can happen, but I think it’s safe to say from this group, only the top three teams (sorry Arizona State) really have a chance at being crowned the champs – and thus giving us a perfect opportunity to run through some of the higher points to each of these teams, starting with under the radar LSU.

The Tigers are focused on devouring the SEC competition once again this year, and even improving on their 27-8 record. With Tasmin Mitchell back in the fold, they have a solid veteran core returning from last year’s team that soared to a 13-1 conference record. If LSU really wants to compete with the elite, they have to improve the team’s 45% FG and 71% FT percentages. For a team whose season ended against the eventual champs, there’s a lot of confidence and expectations surrounding this group – and I’m going out on a limb and predicting it’ll be LSU and not Duke or UConn that comes out of this one as the NIT champion.

Duke’s getting a great college basketball odds and credit to be the top seed here, even with the competition where it’s at. The team looks to be marginally improved over last year’s 30-7 squad, one we’ve already previewed a bit, so I won’t go in-dept here. Ultimately, I think Uconn and LSU are stronger options for betting as a straight winner. The line is going to be gargantuan for Duke’s first-round matchup here, too. It’ll look tempting, but I’d stay away from the early rounds. It’ll be very early in the season, and even the top teams can shock you right out of your Air Jordans when it comes to being upset. Stick to the semi-finals and finals where the teams will be one you’re at least somewhat familiar with.