Two years ago Oral Roberts was the darling of the NCAA Tournament, a No. 15 seed that made it to the second weekend and nearly made an Elite Eight appearance.
Now, the Golden Eagles will try to return to the NCAA Tournament around their star guard Max Abmas once again in the Summit League title game against North Dakota State. Oral Roberts is sporting the nation’s longest winning streak of 16 games, including two wins over North Dakota State.
Will Abmas enter the tournament once again, or can the Bison make this a tough out on Tuesday night?
Here are the odds for the Summit League final:
North Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts odds, spread and total
North Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts prediction and pick
The Bison have had an unbelievable turnaround this season, erasing a 3-11 start, to get to 14-16 on the year and 11-7 in conference play. In January, the team lost at home by 23 to the 29-4 and Golden Eagles, but were far more competitive on the road in the second meeting, losing by eight as 13.5-point underdogs.
Oral Roberts is a wagon offensively, playing fast and efficient around Abmas, who is seventh in the nation in scoring at 22 points per game. Overall, no team turns it over less than the Golden Eagles (ironically no team turns their opponent over less than North Dakota State) and they are 11th in effective field goal percentage.
However, can Oral Roberts get enough stops to cover this double digit spread? The Bison are led by their stretch big Grant Nelson, who scored a combined a 45 points in the two games as he is a matchup nightmare for Oral Roberts defensively.
The Golden Eagles are a team that can be exploited by the 6’11” Nelson, but they are also a big backcourt as well with the likes of Boden Skunberg and Tajavis Miller hunting out Abmas on defense.
I don’t think we have an upset on our hands, but NDSU’s ability to score and keep up with Oral Roberts in the most recent meeting on the road was notable, and I think it can keep this within single digits in the title game.
Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
