Ohio State is the Team to Beat Heading into NIT Quarterfinals
Ohio State and Indiana State Lead the Way in the NIT Championship odds
Four Power-5 Conference Teams Are Among the Eight Teams Left
In late January, Ohio State was moving up in the odds of winning the national championship. Now the Buckeyes are listed by the NIT Championship odds as the favorite to win the NIT title.
Penn State is the last Big Ten team to win the postseason NIT as the Nittany Lions topped Utah in the 2018 title game. The 2019 champion Texas is the last team from a Power-5 conference to win the NIT so that is the history being chased by the Buckeyes.
When looking at the NIT bracket, the quarterfinals begin on Tuesday when Ohio State welcomes Georgia to town for a 7 p.m. game airing on ESPN. Cincinnati plays at Indiana State on Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
UNLV play at Seton Hall on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with Virginia Commonwealth and Utah meeting to wrap up the semifinals.
The semifinals and title game will be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with the Ohio State-Georgia winner meeting the Seton Hall-UNLV winner while the other semifinal will see the winner of the VCU-Utah game going up against the Indiana State-Cincinnati victor.
The semifinals are on Apr. 2 with the championship game on Apr. 4.
Ohio State is priced at +225 in the odds to win the NIT followed by Indiana State at +450 and Cincinnati at 550.
Here’s a breakdown of the quarterfinals:
Ohio Buckeyes vs Georgia Bulldogs 
- Day/Time:
- Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH
- Streaming: ESPN
Ohio State is favored by 9 points against Georgia as the Buckeyes are 8-2 since Jake Diebler took over the coaching duties from Chris Holtmann. The Buckeyes are priced at -385 to win the game outright with the total set at 150.
This will be the second meeting between the teams with Georgia winning 84-80 in overtime in the 1977 Louisville Holiday Classic.
Ohio State is 13-3 at home in the NIT and 21-8 overall in the tournament. Ohio State is in the quarterfinals for the first time since winning the NIT in 2008. That came a season after Ohio State made it to the NCAA Division I title game.
Georgia is 2-0 in NIT quarterfinals only to lose in the semifinals in 1982 and 1998.
Jamison Battle is averaging 19 points and seven rebounds in the NIT for Ohio State with Nate Thomasson putting up 15.5 points per game.
Ohio State is just 11-12-1 against the spread as a favorite this season while Georgia has covered in 11 of its 19 games as the underdog.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs Indiana St. Sycamores 
- Day/Time:
- Location: Hulman Center, Terre Haute, IN
- Streaming: ESPN
Just two years ago Indiana State was just 11-20 and won just four conference games. The Sycamores are now 30-6 as Indiana has won 30 games for the first time since Larry Bird led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA Division I national championship game.
Indiana State is among the top contenders in the NIT championship odds with the Sycamores 20-10-1 against the spread as the favorite.
It has been 10 years since Indiana State has played in the NIT and this is just the second trip to the quarterfinals in six NIT appearances.
Ryan Conwell hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points in a 76-64 win over Minnesota to head to the quarterfinals.
D.J. Skillings is averaging 18 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two tournament games for Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is the three-point underdog despite being 3-1 in its history against Indiana State. Indiana State has -155 odds to win the game outright with the total at 155.
The Bearcats are 8-3 ATS as the underdog this season.
UNLV Rebels vs Seton Hall Pirates 
- Day/Time:
- Location: Walsh Gymnasium, South Orange, N.J.
- Streaming: ESPN
Seton Hall played in the NIT seven times to 1957 with the Pirates reaching the quarterfinals four teams and winning the 1953 title. Seton Hall lost 11 straight NIT games before beating Stony Brook in 2012.
When it comes to the NCAA basketball odds, the Pirates are favored by 3.5 points and the Moneyline is at -170. The total of 141 is the lowest of the four NIT quarterfinals.
UNLV, the 1990 NCAA Division I national champions, is in the NIT for the first time since 2009 and before this season, hadn’t won a game in the NIT since 2005.
Freshman and Las Vegas native Dedan Thomas had 17 points in a second-round win over Boston College for UNLV. Kadary Richmond leads Seton in both scoring (15.6 points per game) and is second in rebounding (6.8).
UNLV is 3-2 in its five meetings with Seton Hall.
Seton Hall defeated three teams in the NCAA basketball rankings this season.
VCU Rams vs Utah Utes 
- Day/Time:
- Location: Huntsman Center, Salt Lake, Utah
- Streaming: ESPN
Utah‘s time in the Pac-12 is coming to a close with the Utes looking to extend its season with all but two Pac-12 teams heading to different conferences.
Utah made it to the NIT title game in 2018, the last time Utah was in the tournament field.
VCU made it to the second round in 2022 after losing its previous four games in the NIT.
Zeb Jackson had 14 points to lead four players scoring in double figures as VCU topped South Florida 70-65 as the 3.5-point underdog. Brendan Carlson is averaging 16.5 points, six rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots in the tournament for Utah.
This is the first meeting between the teams with Utah listed as the six-point favorite and the total coming in at 145.5.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
