Northeastern vs. Connecticut
Free Pick: UConn -7.5 (2010 NIT Tournament – Tom Stryker)
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Off four consecutive straight up losses including an embarrassing first round blemish to St. John’s in the Opening Round of the Big East Tournament, Connecticut will bounce back nicely tonight at home in the NIT matched up against Northeastern.

As stated, the Huskies dropped a 73-51 decision to the Red Storm in their last game and that crushing defeat places them in an automatic “play on” situation. Since the 1990-91 season, NIT 1st Round hosts that enter off a blowout loss of 20 points or more are a respectable 21-5 SU and 17-9 ATS including a solid 16-2 SU and 14-4 ATS in this role carrying a won/loss percentage less than .640. With those two parameters applied and our host favored by -4′ or more, this system tightens up to a rewarding 8-1 SU and ATS mark! UConn applies to all three parameters of this angle.

To help our cause, Big East home teams have dominated the 1st Round of the NIT Tournament posting a solid 20-3 SU and 15-7-1 ATS mark provided they check in off a straight up loss. If our BEAST team spots a won/loss percentage less than .590, this conference situations improves to a superb 11-0 SU and 9-1-1 ATS! On the flip side, since the 2005 season, Northeastern has struggled against teams from the Big East notching a woeful 1-9 SU and 2-8 ATS record.

The Northeastern Huskies participated in the CBI Tournament last year and found a way to pull off an upset win at Wyoming in their first game. Considering these Huskies are just 9-20 ATS priced as a road dog of +5′ or more when matched up against an opponent that holds a won/loss percentage greater than .200, an encore performance against one of the Big East’s better teams isn’t likely to happen. Take Connecticut. Thank you and best of luck, Tom Stryker.

Texas Tech vs. Seton Hall
Free Pick: Texas Tech +9 (2010 NIT Tournament – Matt Fargo)
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In a normal situation, Seton Hall would be worth a look here but this situation is far from normal. The Pirates do not have much interest in playing in the NIT as they were holding out hope to make the NCAA Tournament with their 9-9 regular season conference record and 1-1 record in the Big East Tournament but it was pretty much a guarantee that they had no chance in an at-large bid. Seton Hall was respectable in the conference but it was far from dominant as it defeated only two teams by double-digits and those were against Providence and Rutgers, both of which finished the season under .500. As a favorite of more than five points, the Pirates are 1-6 ATS on the season. Texas Tech started the season very well as it got off to a 9-0 start and was ranked at one point. A 15-point loss at New Mexico turned the season around as the Red Raiders won only seven more games the rest of the way but the fact that it is playing in the NIT is a pretty big reward for a team that went 4-12 in the Big XII during the regular season. I do not think the Red Raiders should be playing in the postseason to be honest but here they are and that makes a bigger difference as motivation now comes into play. An extended season is a huge bonus for a team that even it thought would not happen. The Pirates also have some added turmoil they don’t need as forward Robert Mitchell was dismissed from the team for remarks he made against head coach Bobby Gonzalez. He told a reporter that “it’s hard to stay consistent as a player, when the coach isn’t consistent.” While this may be an isolated opinion, there is the possibility that it is felt by others and Mitchell was the only one who spoke out. This is something you don’t want to hear at any point in the season and even more so during a one-and-done scenario. 3* Texas Tech Red Raiders