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Murray State heads to Reno for a Wednesday night NIT matchup against Nevada at Lawlor Events Center, with tip set for 10:00 PM ET on ESPN+. The Racers enter at 20-12 overall and 12-9 in Missouri Valley play, while Nevada comes in 22-12 overall and 14-9 in the Mountain West. That record gap is not huge, but the profile gap is real. Nevada has been the steadier defensive team, and Murray State tends to live in faster, looser games where volatility follows. This is also an interesting tournament spot. Murray State is trying to reset after a 92-79 loss to UIC in its conference tournament, while Nevada had a deeper, more physical path through the Mountain West tournament before losing

UIC heads west for an NIT matchup with California on Wednesday night, with tipoff set for 11:00 PM ET at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley and the game airing on ESPN2. The Flames come in at 19-15 after an MVC tournament run that ended with an 84-69 loss to Northern Iowa, while the Golden Bears are 21-11 and back on their home floor after a competitive ACC tournament loss to Florida State. This is the kind of postseason game where the style clash matters almost as much as the raw talent. UIC has been pretty solid defensively all year and tends to stay live as an underdog because it rebounds well, gets to the line enough, and does not mind playing

Liberty heads to Fairfax on Tuesday night for a postseason matchup against George Mason at EagleBank Arena, with tip set for 6:00 PM ET. The market has George Mason installed as a 5.5-point favorite with a total of 144.5, which sets up an interesting handicap between a Liberty team that won 25 games and a George Mason group that finished 23-8 and played one of the better defensive brands among mid-majors this season. The recent form gives bettors something real to weigh. Liberty closed the regular season with wins over Jacksonville State and Sam Houston before getting knocked out of the CUSA tournament by Missouri State, while George Mason dropped its most recent game to St. Bonaventure after finishing fifth

The NCAA Tournament tips off Tuesday night in Dayton with Howard and UMBC meeting in a First Four game at UD Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:40 PM ET on truTV, and the stakes are simple. Win and move on. Lose and the season is done. Howard comes in at 23-10 after winning the MEAC tournament, while UMBC is 24-8 and arrives on a 12-game winning streak after taking the America East title. This is a pretty interesting 16-seed matchup, honestly. UMBC is a short favorite, but Howard has the kind of backcourt scoring and free-throw pressure that can travel well in tournament settings. UMBC has been a little more consistent defensively, and its recent run has been hard to