The Air Force Academy Falcons (25-8) of the Mountain West Conference host the DePaul Blue Demons (20-13) of the BIG EAST Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the MasterCard NIT from Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo., at 10 p.m. ET.
DePaul is 20-13 after defeating Kansas State, 70-65, on Monday in Manhattan, Kan. Air Force is 25-8 after beating Georgia, 83-52, on Monday in Colorado Springs, Colo. Both games were in the NIT second round. The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the semifinals to be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 27. Tonight's game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
Oddsmakers like the Falcons in this game having installed them as -7.0-point favorites with a 121 total. Thus far in NIT play, the Falcons have easily covered their first and second round games against the spread. Austin Peay came to Colorado Springs as a +14-point underdog and left town after losing to the Falcons by 24 points. On Monday, the Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC rolled into Clune Arena as a +6.5 point underdog and got neutered, losing 83-52, sealing another cover ATS for Falcon backers. The OVER cashed on the total in both NIT games.
DePaul has also covered for backers in both of its NIT appearances. The Blue Demons defeated Hofstra (83-71) at home on March 14th, narrowly covering ATS the -10-point line. On Monday, DePaul hit the road for its second round game at Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., and winning as a +4.5-point road-dog 70-65. The OVER cashed for the total in both games.
Jerry Wainwright is in his second season at DePaul and his 13th as a head coach. He is 218-172 overall and 32-28 with the Blue Demons. Wainwright is has never faced the Falcons as a head coach. Jeff Bzdelik is in his second season at Air Force and his second season as a college head coach. He is 49-15 overall and has never faced the Blue Demons.
Point-Spreads.com pick: Air Force -7.0
