CBI Tournament - Daytona Beach (Games in this tournament were decided by 1, 2, 3, and 7 on Sunday after margins of 1, 2, and 13 on Saturday)
Cleveland State +4.5 vs. High Point
Cleveland State won 51-49 on a buzzer beater over Northern Colorado on Sunday. Both teams struggled from the floor shooting under 34% for the game. The Vikings went only 5/13 at the line but still managed to win. High Point enters this one having last played on March 9th when they lost in OT to Longwood as the top seed. How will they respond 2 weeks removed from the disappointment? We will find out. High Point ranks #36 in the nation on offense, Cleveland State is #171. Cleveland State has the better D, slightly more Top 200 wins, and has the edge of already playing on this floor. Horizon League member Oakland upset Kentucky in the big dance, Cleveland State beat Oakland this year before being eliminated by 3 in the conference tournament. Grabbing the points feels like the right thing to do.
Arkansas State -2.5 vs. Montana
Montana needed OT to beat the Blue Hose of Presbyterian 82-79 on Sunday. The Grizzlies shot 51.6% for the game, Mr. Moody scored 34 on 14/21 shooting. Arkansas State survived to beat Bethune-Cookman on Saturday 86-85 shooting 52.6% from the floor. Both teams are in the Top 100 on offense but rank 262nd & 266th on defense. 3 Top 200 wins this year for Montana, 9 Top 200 wins for Arkansas State. After starting the year 8-13, Red Wolves played well down the stretch losing only to James Madison & Appalachian State. I'll lay the points.
Fairfield -5 vs. Chicago State
Didn't expect to be handicapping a Chicago State game for March 25th but here we are. Cougars hadn't played since February 19th but managed to upset UC San Diego 77-75 on Saturday thanks to Cardet & Corbett combining for 52. At 13-18, Chicago State is the Cinderella of the CBI. Fairfield trailed by 9, rallied to beat Little Rock on Sunday by 7. Chicago State had 1 Top 200 win during the year, upset Northwestern by 2. Cougars rank 294th on offense, 253rd on defense. Stags of Fairfield had 4 Top 200 wins during the year with the best of the bunch winning at Yale. Ken Pom has Fairfield by 7, 5 feels a little low so I'm going to lay the points.
Evansville +6 vs. Seattle U
Purple Aces of Evansville trailed by 9 in the 1H then hung on in the 2H for the 64-63 win over Quinnipiac on Sunday. Seattle U put together the biggest win of the tournament on Saturday beating Delaware State by 13, Redhawks had 22 points off turnovers and 13 offensive rebounds to help the cause. Seattle had a pair of Top 100 wins over Louisiana Tech & Grand Canyon at home during the season, they rank 71st on D. Evansville beat Bradley at home for the lone Top 100 win on the season. 245th ranked offense, 176th ranked defense. The way the tournament has been going, I'll grab the 6 with the team from the Missouri Valley Conference.
CIT - 1 Game
Purdue Fort Wayne +6 @ Tarleton State
Texans of Tarleton are now 25-9, beat Texas Southern by 11 and Abilene Christian by 27 at home last week. They rank 108th on offense, 166th on defense. Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne are 22-12, advanced with a nice road win at Bowling Green on Wednesday. PFW ranks 195th on offense, 137th on defense. Purdue Fort Wayne has won 11 games away from home this year including a 19-point win at Oakland. Good road team getting 6, I'll grab the points.
