Men’s NIT Tournament Odds and Predictions

Despite being a consolation tournament for those teams that didn’t make the NCAAB Men’s Tournament, this year’s NIT Tournament has been an exciting one.

The Semifinals didn’t disappoint as the UC Irvine Anteaters and Chattanooga Mocs won their games to advance to the NIT Championship game on April 3.

Both schools will make their first ever NIT Championship appearances. For the Mocs, this is the furthest they’ve ever gone in school history. For the Anteaters, they currently lead the Nation in road wins with 15.

Both programs have looked impressive at times. Each school also features star players that will fill up the stat sheets and dazzle fans in attendance or watching from home.

The NIT Championship game will be live from the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, and air live on ESPN at 9pm ET.

Let’s take a look at the latest NIT odds and make our College Basketball pick for the NIT Championship.

What Is the NIT Tournament?

The NIT, or National Invitation Tournament, is actually the oldest major college basketball tournament in the U.S. Founded in 1938, it began one year ahead of the NCAA tournament. Unlike the NCAA tournament, preliminary round NIT games are played on the campus or home arena of the higher seeded team. The semifinals and finals of the NIT are held annually at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Over the years, the NIT expanded from its original six teams to its current 32-team format. In the early years, college basketball teams could compete in both tournaments. City College of New York (CCNY) is the only college basketball program to have ever won the NIT and NCAA championships in the same year (1950). Ironically, CCNY defeated Bradley University in both championship games.

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NIT Tournament Schedule

• First round: Tuesday, March 18
• First round: Wednesday, March 19
• Second round: Saturday, March 22
• Second round: Sunday, March 23
• Quarterfinal round: Tuesday, March 25
• Quarterfinal round: Wednesday, March 26
• NIT Semifinals: Tuesday, April 1
• NIT Championship: Thursday, April 3

NIT Tournament Odds

Check out the latest men’s NIT Tournament odds courtesy of the best sports betting sites:

The UC Irvine Anteaters are a clear odds-on favorite to win the NIT Championship. They were one of the four no.1 seeds in the tournament and the only seeded team left. With that said, oddsmakers and some of the top handicappers are giving the Chattanooga Mocs respect with these current lines.

NIT Championship Betting Trends

Check out the following UC Irvine vs. Chattanooga betting trends:

UC Irvine Anteaters Betting Trends

• 10-1 SU in last 11 games
• 18-2 SU in last 20 Thursday games
• 6-2 ATS in last eight games
• Over is 9-1 in last 10 Thursday home games

Chattanooga Mocs Betting Trends

• 16-1 SU in last 17 games
• 7-2 SU in last nine Thursday games on the road
• 7-1 ATS in last eight games
• Under is 4-1 in last five Thursday games

NIT Championship Preview

These two teams have played against each other just three times, and Chattanooga is 3-0 in those matchups. Their last game was in 2007, where the Mocs won 85-80. As for this year’s matchup, let’s take a look at how both squads got here.

UC Irvine Anteaters (32-6)

The Anteaters entered the tournament as one of the #1 seeds and easily made their way through the opening rounds winning by 7.5 points per game.

UC Irvine opened the NIT tourney with an 82-72 win over Northern Colorado. They followed that victory up with a 66-61 win over Jacksonville St. in the second round.

The Quarterfinal round was a tough matchup for UC Irvine as they barely squeaked by UAB. They needed to go to Overtime to get the win.

This set up a Semifinal matchup against the North Texas Mean Green and one of the more exciting pairings for the entire tournament. Both teams were highly ranked and the winner was listed as the odds-on favorite to capture the 2025 NIT Championship.

Despite being the slight underdog, the Anteaters came from behind with two minutes left in the game, to hold on for a hard-fought 69-67 victory and their first NIT Championship appearance.

The win also gave UC Irvine its 32^nd victory of the season, which tied Duke, Auburn, Florida and Houston for the most wins in the nation. Furthermore, UCI picked up its nation-leading 15^th road victory of the season.

Chattanooga Mocs (28-9)

The Mocs opened up the tourney with a 3OT upset over Middle Tennessee. It was a thrilling victory that really set the tone for Chattanooga moving forward.

They followed that win up with a 75-67 victory over George Mason who was the no.2 seed in their region. This win put them in the Quarterfinals against the no.3 seeded Bradley team. The Mocs won that game 67-65 and were off to the Semifinals.

Like the Anteaters, Chattanooga was also the underdog in their SF matchup. However, unlike UCI, the Mocs won comfortably as they dispatched Loyola Chicago by the score of 80-73.

This is their first NIT Championship game. It’s also the first time that a SoCon squad has reached a major NCAAB tournament final since West Virginia did it in the 1959 NCAA Men’s Tournament.

NIT Championship Predictions

The underdog Mocs are led by a trio of players in Trey Bonham, Honor Huff, and Bash Wieland. All three have helped lead Chattanooga in primary statistical categories over the first three games of the NIT.

In the Semifinals, Boham finished with 23 points. He’s averaging 23ppg in the NIT Tournament. Huff is averaging 16.3ppg and has hit 16 threes in the NIT so far. His 128 3FGM leads NCAA D1 heading into the Championship. Wieland chipped in 12 points, and the trio scored 47 of the team’s 80 points in the SF Round.

Bent Leuchten has been a force down low for UC Irvine. He’s averaging 15.4ppg and 9.0 rbp in the NIT. Leuchten has scored 10 points or more in each game and has tallied at least 10 rebounds in two of the three NIT matchups. He finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks against the Mean Green in the SF Round.

Devin Tillis has been UCI’s primary scorer and is averaging 14.4ppg and 7.7rpb over his last 10 games. He’s scored at least 22 points in half of his NIT appearances. Tillis notched his 7^th double-double of the season with a solid 16-point, 11 rebound performance in the SF Round.

The UCI duo of Tillis and Leuchten are going to be too much for the Mocs to handle. North Texas has a far superior defense than the Mocs do, and the Anteaters put up the most points on the Mean Green since last December.

The Mocs have allowed 74.8ppg over their last 10 games and UCI is averaging 78.6ppg over that span. Furthermore, the Anteaters are allowing just 68.8ppg to their opponents.

In the NIT, the Mocs are allowing 78.2ppg and UCI is giving up 69.2ppg. Furthermore, Chattanooga gave up too many points in the paint to Loyola Chicago in the SF round. I believe Leuchten and Tillis will exploit this weakness in the championship game.

UCI is also shooting over 80% from the free throw line, which is better than the Mocs as well. When you combine UCI’s interior advantage, better defensive play, and better free throw shooting, it’s hard to see the Mocs winning this game.

I’m taking the Anteaters to win this matchup as they ride the duo of Tillis and Leuchten to an NIT Championship victory.  see Loyola limiting the Chattanooga offense and keep this to a low scoring contest.

Bet: UC Irvine Anteaters (-180), Anteaters -3.5 (-110), Under 147 (-110)

NIT Tournament Winners

The following is a list of the most recent Men’s NIT Tournament winners: