NIT Final Preview: North Carolina Vs. Dayton

Most basketball fans are focused on Final Four Odds for the NCAA tournament, but in the mean time, betting enthusiasts will be watching the NIT Final. After narrowly missing the NCAA tournament, the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Dayton Flyers are now playing for pride and the NIT Championship. Here is a preview for the NIT Championship game between North Carolina and Dayton.

North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Dayton Flyers

Thursday April 1, 2010, 7:00pm (ET)

Sportsbook Point Spread: DAYTON -3

After two closely fought semi-final games, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Dayton Flyers are looking to prove to the rest of the NCAA that they belonged in the big tournament. Entering this game, North Carolina had a 20-16 record, while Dayton was 24-12 overall. To advance to the NIT Championship game, North Carolina defeated Rhode Island 68-67 in overtime while Dayton beat Ole Miss 68-63. As 3 and 4 seeds entering this tournament, neither team was picked to be playing for the NIT title, but by the end of Thursday evening, one of these teams will be crowned NIT Champions. If North Carolina wins, it would mark the first time a school has consecutively won the NCAA tournament followed by the NIT.

What the North Carolina Tar Heels need to do to win

College Basketball Betting Odds: DAYTON -3

Keep their momentum going: After recovering from a slew of injuries early in the season and overcoming what many would call inexperience, the Tar Heels now look like an NCAA tournament team, only one year after winning the big dance. After an emotional overtime victory in the NIT semi, North Carolina can’t let up. Their big players including Deon Thompson, who scored a team high 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, must continue to shine. Against Rhode Island, North Carolina featured a balanced scoring attack with double-digit games from Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Will Graves. The Tar Heels will need another balanced performance to capture the NIT title.

What the Dayton Flyers need to do to win

Sports Betting Odds: DAYTON -3

Dominate defensively: After halting the high-powered Ole Miss offence, Dayton must continue to box out their opponents, pick up rebounds, and minimize turnovers. All season, Dayton has only averaged 62.1 points per game against, a number that is a testament to their strong defensive play. Against Mississippi, Chris Wright and Chris Johnson pulled down 11 and 10 rebounds respectively and must continue that dominance of the boards to beat the Tar Heels.

Break the 70-point barrier: Regardless of their strong defence, Dayton will need to put points on the board to keep up with the run and gun North Carolina offence. Aside from Chris and Marcus Johnson, no Flyers player scored more than 9 points and Dayton only received 12 points off the bench. Both of these totals will need to increase for the Flyers to capture the NIT title. Specifically, the Flyers will need increased output from regular season scoring leader Chris Wright.