The No.1-seeded Old Dominion Monarchs (24-6) and No.3-seeded Murray State Racers (27-5) meet in the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament at Constant Convocation Center. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 25.
The Monarchs come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, edging Illinois State 50-49 in the second round. Trey Freeman was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting. The Racers, meanwhile, are coming off an 83-62 win against Tulsa in the second round. Cameron Payne led the game in scoring by registering 31 points on 12-for-24 shooting.
Freeman has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Monarchs. During that stretch, he has averaged 23.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers.
It will be a showdown of two heavyweights, as the productive offense of the Racers (ninth in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 116.4) takes the court against the elite defense of the Monarchs (eighth in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 144.3).
The odds for Old Dominion and Murray State are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available. The Monarchs have gone 26-7 Straight Up (SU) and 16-14 Against The Spread (ATS). Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of the Old Dominion offense, which averages just 10.9 turnovers per game.
In the other locker room, the Racers have 29-5 SU and 15-14-1 ATS records. Murray State has a good SU record over the last 10 games (9-1), but have a 3-7 record ATS. The Racers are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 31st in Division I at 1.33.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these two. Their previous game was a Monarchs victory, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 1-1 SU. On the other hand, Old Dominion holds the advantage ATS with a record of 2-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – MURRAY, ATS Winner – MURRAY
Notes
Ranked 83rd, the Old Dominion Monarchs have an offensive rating of 106.8. The Murray State Racers rank 140th with a defensive rating of just 185.2.
Murray State beats Old Dominion in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Racers average 67.9 possessions and 1.164 points per possession, while the Monarchs average 61.6 possessions with 1.068 points per possession.
Murray State is one of the top teams in the nation with an average effective field goal percentage of 54.9% (ranked 20th). Old Dominion is 2-3 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Old Dominion Monarchs average 18.1 three point attempts per game, and the Murray State Racers attempt 19.3 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Old Dominion is 9-2 and Murray State is 10-3.
Old Dominion ranks 55th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.23, while Murray State ranks 31st with an A/TO of 1.33.
Old Dominion ranks 53rd in offensive rebounding. When it comes to defensive rebounds, Murray State ranks 80th.
On average, Old Dominion makes 6.4 steals per game. Murray State has a dazzling 10-3 record when it gives up at least 6 steals.
