Ruffolo's NIT Play of the Day

Hofstra Pride (25-9) vs Cincinnati Bearcats (22-12)

Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 2:00 pm

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I get why you’d look at Cincinnati here as they are the name brand team in this matchup from a stronger conference and they’ve played tough teams all year long, teams like Houston, Arizona, Ohio State, Memphis, Xavier and even UCF. And the Bearcats did look good in the opening round of the NIT beating Virginia Tech, but this pick for me is simply about the fact that Cincinnati goes on the road here. This Bearcats team wasn’t the same away from home and were outscored by 1.3 PPG on the road this season. Hofstra may not be in the toughest conference, but the CAA was better than expected for me this season and the Pride played a ton of tournament teams like Purdue and Saint Mary’s and even beat Charleston, Princeton and Iona as well. Hofstra’s won 14 of their last 15 games and just went on the road and beat a Rutgers team that’s top-5 in the country in defensive efficiency, and a team that many thought should’ve been in the NCAA tournament. Hofstra’s also averaging 79.5 PPG at home and are outscoring opponents by almost 19 PPG at home. Hofstra’s top-50 in 3-point and 2-point percentage and are top-100 in free throw percentage on offense and are top-50 on defense in 3-point and 2-point percentage as well.  I expect Hofstra’s home court to be rocking with a chance to play one of the bigger names in college hoops and being 11-1 at home, I think the home court edge drives it home here. Give me Hofstra.

Chris’s Pick Hofstra Pride: +1.5 -110

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