Middle Tennessee State Vs Minnesota Prediction, Pick & TV Info

The 12th-seeded Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders will look to pull off the classic, 12-seed vs. 5-seed upset when they take on the fifth-seeded Minnesota Gophers in their West Region opener on Thursday. Now, let’s find out where the NCAA basketball odds value in this intriguing opening round matchup lies.

A Closer Look At The Blue Raiders Vs Gophers Betting Prediction, Pick & TV Info

When: Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 4:00 PM ET Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin TV: TNT Live Stream: NCAA Live NCAAB Odds: Minnesota -1    

Why Bet The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders Odds at +1

There are plenty of good reasons to back the Blue Raiders starting with the fact that the Middle Tennessee is on fire, having won 10 straight games including their 83-72 win over Marshall in the Conference USA tournament championship game. Middle Tennessee State averages a respectable 75.0 points per game (129th) but shoot a stellar 49.0 percent from the field to rank 12th nationally. Even better, the Blue Raiders limit the opposition to just 63.3 points per game (21st) on 41.7 percent shooting from the field (71st) and 31.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc (42nd). Middle Tennessee State has a trio of double-digit scorers on their roster including leading scorer JaCorey Williams (17.3 ppg). “We’re excited,” senior forward Reggie Upshaw said in school news release Sunday. “Every year you see a 12-5 upset, and to have that 12 seed, we know the history behind it. There’s nothing but excitement from us, because we know what we can do when we get into the national spotlight in the NCAA Tournament.”

Why Bet The Minnesota Gophers Odds at -1

Despite the fact that Minnesota has dropped two of its last three games, the Golden Gophers completed the best win-total turnaround (plus-16) in Division I college hoops this season while punching its first ticket to the Big Dance in four years. Minnesota averages a modest 75.3 points per game (123rd) but shoots just 43.5 percent from the field (235th) and 34.5 percent from beyond the arc (202nd). Defensively, the Gophers limit the opposition to 69.1 points per game (97th) while forcing their opponents into a dismal 39.8 percent shooting mark from the field (16th). The Gophers also have three double-digit scorers on the roster in Nate Mason (15.5 ppg).

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

A convincing 64 percent of the betting public likes Middle Tennessee to get the ATS cover and I believe the Blue Raiders will do so as well – by beating the Gophers outright! The Blue Raiders went 2-0 against their only major-conference foes (Vanderbilt and Ole Miss) this season and that’s a great barometer of how they’ll fare against Minnesota in this matchup. Middle Tennessee has also gone 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in a half-dozen neutral site games this season while Minnesota has gone 2-1 SU and ATS in their three neutral site games this season. The Blue Raiders are 9-0 ATS in their last 9 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while posting a bankroll-boosting 21-7 ATS mark in their last 28 games overall. Minnesota is a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five games against teams from the Conference USA and an impressive 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall, but I love the way Middle Tennessee is playing right now and believe they’ll get the outright win because of their edge in defense.

My final score prediction is Middle Tennessee State 69 Minnesota 64