SW Missouri State (21-7)
-2,over/under 129
vs. Northern Iowa (22-8), 9:20 p.m. Eastern
by Ultimatecapper.com Staff
The streaking Missouri State Bears, the number three seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, take on the slumping Northern Iowa Panthers, the number six seed, in an MVC quarterfinal match-up tonight in St. Louis.
The Bears won their last five regular-season games to finish in a tie for second place in the MVC at 12-6, two games behind first-place Wichita State. Northern Iowa, on the other hand, lost four of its last five games to fall to 11-7 and into a tie for fifth in the conference with Bradley.
The Panthers made an appearance in a couple of national Top 25's a short while back, but suffered three close losses and one embarrassing home blowout to Bradley. And their only win in the last three weeks was a come-from-behind, double overtimer vs. Bucknell in Cedar Falls during Bracket Buster weekend.
In their last outing as a two-point underdog at Southern Illinois, UNI grabbed a big early lead, lost it, came from behind to tie it late and then lost 46-45 on a basket in the last few seconds.
Missouri State beat Creighton 60-54 Saturday as a seven-point home favorite.
Northern Iowa is 14-11 against the spread this season; 3-3 ats as an underdog and 8-9 ats in the MVC.
The Bears are a rock-solid 18-8 against the spread this season, 15-5 ats as a favorite and 12-6 ats in conference action.
The two teams split a pair of games this season, the road team winning both times. UNI has won three of the last five meetings vs. Mo State.
In the latest RPI at NCAAsports.com, Missouri State is ranked20th, while Northern Iowa comes in at #31. So the winner of thisgame would appear to have a pretty good chance at an at-largeberth in the Big Dance.
The under is a collective 31-21 in Missouri State and Northern Iowa games this season, and the last five meetings between the two teams have stayed under the total.
The winner of this match-up will play the winner of the Southern Illinois/Evansville game in an MVC semi-final Saturday.
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The Ultimatecapper.com Pick: Under 129
