We move on to the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament and we will see the BYU Cougars travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN U. Currently the Odds for the game have Southern Mississippi favored by 5.5 points while the total sits at 152.
Analysis: Brigham Young has bounced back nicely from a shocking 72-69 loss to San Diego in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament with impressive back-to-back home wins over Washington (90-79) and Mercer (90-71). The Cougars, playing in their 11th National Invitation Tournament, improved to 14-8 all-time in that tourney with Monday night's win over the Bears. BYU won the NIT in both 1951 and 1966 but is making its first appearance in the event since 2006. The Cougars have been looking to redeem themselves following their early exit in the WCC tourney and seemed to have found their shooting touch in the process, scoring 90 points in back-to-back games. "The disappointment of the conference tournament was real to our players," BYU coach Dave Rose told the Deseret News. "They really feel excited about this opportunity to continue to play, and not finish with the note we had there. It's good to see. They're playing with a lot of togetherness." Guard Tyler Haws, who scored a school NIT record 37 points in the opening win over Washington, leads the team in scoring (21.5) and has connected on 38.5 percent of his 3-point tries while 6-9 senior Brandon Davies, who had 26 points and 10 rebounds against Mercer, is averaging 18 points and 7.9 rebounds. Sophomore guard Matt Carlino, who began his career at UCLA, has been a big offensive key in the first two NIT games averaging 19 points, nine assists and 6.5 rebounds.
If it weren't for Memphis, Southern Miss could have very well been Conference USA's entrant in the NCAA Tournament. However a 91-79 setback against the Tigers in the conference finals, its third of the season against them, ended those hopes. The Golden Eagles have recovered nicely with tournament wins over Charleston Southern and Louisiana Tech to reach the NIT quarterfinals. At 27-9 the Golden Eagles have amassed the most wins in a season ever, while having totaled at least 22 in three straight years. The Golden Eagles, unlike BYU, won't blow teams away with their offensive stats but make up for it on the defensive end. Southern Miss averages 9.8 steals per game - which ranks fourth in the nation - and, despite not having a starter taller than 6-7, led Conference USA in rebounding margin (plus-5.8). The Golden Eagles, who outrebounded 26 opponents this season, finished with a 44-22 edge in points in the paint in Monday night's win over Louisiana Tech and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. "They were tremendous defensively," Louisiana Tech coach Michael White said. "Their zone was terrific. They did a good job of limiting our penetration." Senior forward Dwayne Davis (16.3) and junior guard Jerrold Brooks (10.8) are the only players to score in double figures for well-balanced Southern Miss, which has six players averaging 8.4 points or more.
Pick: The Cougars have had a nice year this year, but I feel it comes crashing down tonight. The Cougars destroyed Washington and Mercer in the first two rounds of the NIT, but both of those games were at home and now they are on the road where they are 4-12 ATS in their last 16. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles have been very good at home, where they are 14-1 SU and while they are just 6-6 ATS at home, their last 13 home wins have been by 6 or more points. The Cougars do score 70+ points on the road and Southern Miss puts up 73 ppg at home, but it is on the defensive end where the Golden Eagles have a big edge in this one. The BYU Cougars come in having allowed 70+ points in each of their last 5 games, while on the rad this year they have allowed 71.7 ppg on 45% shooting on the road this year. The Golden Eagles have been outstanding on defense at home this year, where they have allowed just 58.5 ppg on 37.3% shooting overall and 29.3% shooting from long range. The Golden Eagles have outscored their opponents by 15.4 ppg at home and behind their tough defense they should be able to take this one by at least 10 points.
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