Betting Tuesday’s NIT Semifinals: Short Spreads, High Totals

Think you have to wait until Saturday to bet college basketball’s semifinals? Think again.

The NIT continues Tuesday from Madison Square Garden with a pair of semifinal matchups between Lipscomb-Wichita State and Texas-TCU.

Our experts dive in to see which teams can cover and advance to the finals on Thursday.

Lipscomb vs. Wichita State NIT Betting Odds

• Spread: Pick’em
• Over/Under: 150.5
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Location: New York

With 26 seconds left, the Bisons had just an 8% chance to knock off North Carolina State in the NIT quarterfinals. But Kenny Cooper’s game-winning jumper with four ticks left handed his team a trip to the semifinals. And Lipscomb has the offense to pull off its fifth cover in the past five games.

Casey Alexander’s unit boasts the 16th-ranked defensive rebound rate (23.9%), allowing it to control the tempo and speed up the Shockers in the process. Its offense thrives off getting to the line in transition, generating the 77th-highest free-throw rate (36.5%).

Greg Marshall’s crew has yielded the 45th-highest rate (39.1%), struggling to stay out of foul trouble. Look for Bisons guard Garrison Matthews (20.7 points per game) to help Lipscomb expose the Shockers from that spot, as well as from the perimeter against a below-average 3-point defense in AAC play (35.0%). — Eli Hershkovich

Eli’s Pick: Lipscomb PK

Texas vs. TCU NIT Betting Odds

• Spread: Pick’em
• Over/Under: 150.5
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Location: New York

This intrastate NIT battle at Madison Square Garden brings two teams that barely missed qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs have looked very impressive in their three NIT wins, defeating Sam Houston State, Nebraska, and Creighton by an average of 14 points per game.

Head coach Jaime Dixon features a balanced offense led by Alex Robinson (12.6 ppg, 7.1 apg). The senior guard creates open jump shots for sharpshooting teammates Desmond Bane (43.2% 3P) and Kouat Noi (36.3% 3P).

TCU has greatly improved its defense beyond the arc, too. The Horned Frogs’ length was a major disrupter in Big 12 conference play, where they ranked first in limiting opponents from beyond the arc. Texas generates 37% of its offense from the 3P, which will hurt their main area of offensive production.

They are facing a Texas team that is just 1-5 against the spread in their last six games and 0-2 against TCU this year. Take the Horned Frogs with this short number to move onto the NIT Finals.

Mike’s Pick: TCU -2