The Indiana State Sycamores are one win away from reaching the NIT Final Four, which will be held in their home state at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but to get there, they must defeat the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Indiana State Sycamores (-3, 154.5)
The biggest advantage Cincinnati has in this game is on the glass, ranking ninth in rebound rate but is dealing with an injury to 6-foot-11 starting forward Viktor Lakhin, who is averaging 9.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season.
The injury to Lakhin is compounded by Day Day Thomas, who is Cincinnati’s leader in both assists and steals while being its number three scorer with 10.4 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, missed the team’s game against Bradley over the weekend and was last seen on crutches.
Having two key pieces out for Cincinnati is magnified even more in a game where depth and overall cardio will be important as Indiana State enters Tuesday ranked ninth in the nation in points scored on a per-possession basis and 64th in total possessions per game.
The Bearcats have had difficulties generating offense on the road all season long, ranking 129th overall in points scored on a per-possession basis and scoring 10.7 points per 100 possessions fewer in road games than in home games.
Indiana State’s 3-point shooting will also cause issues for this Cincinnati defense which ranks 217th in opponent 3-point shooting percentage on the road at 34.9% as each of Indiana State’s top scorers shoot at least 34.7% from 3-point range. As a team, the Sycamores rank 12th in 3-point shooting percentage against Division I competition at 38.1%.
With the injuries Cincinnati has to overcome coupled with Indiana State’s outside shooting, Indiana State will advance to the NIT Final Four.
The Play: Indiana State -3
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