NIT Picks: Memphis vs Dayton 3/20/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Memphis Tigers battle the Dayton Flyers in an NIT tournament first round matchup in college basketball action from the UNT Coliseum on Saturday night.

The Dayton Flyers come into the NIT after picking up a 14-9 record this season including a 9-7 mark in A-10 conference play. The Flyers took out Rhode Island in the second round before falling to runner-up VCU in the quarterfinals. Jalen Crutcher leads Dayton in scoring and assists with 18.1 PPG and 4.8 APG while Ibi Watson has 15.8 PPG and 4.1 RPG and Chase Johnson has a 12.2 PPG and 6 RPG to make up the trio of double-digit scorers for Dayton this season. Mustapha Amzil also has 9.8 PPG with 5.5 RPG while Jordy Tshimanga has a team-high 8 RPG this season. As a team, Dayton is averaging 69.6 PPG on 47.8% shooting from the field and 36.5% from three while allowing 67.2 PPG on 41.5% shooting from the field and 31.4% from three this season.

The Memphis Tigers come into the NIT after finishing the year at 16-8 including an 11-4 mark in AAC play this season. The Tigers took out UCF in the quarter-finals before a narrow loss to Houston in the conference semi-finals which eventually burst the bubble for Memphis. Landers Nolley II leads the Tigers in scoring with 12.6 PPG while Deandre Williams has 11.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3.6 APG and Boogie Ellis has 10.2 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Memphis this season. D.J. Jeffries and Lester Quinones each have 9+ PPG while Moussa Cisse leads the Tigers in rebounding with 6.6 RPG and Alex Lomax leads the Tigers in assists with 4.4 APG this season. As a team, Memphis is averaging 72.1 PPG on 44.1% shooting from the field and 35.5% from three while allowing 62.3 PPG on 38.4% shooting from the floor and 26.8% from three this season.

Dayton is 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following a loss while the over is 6-0 in their last 6 neutral site games. Memphis is 12-1 ATS in their last 13 games overall and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 6-2 in their last 8 games following a loss.

I get why the Flyers would be worth a look here as there’s a solid group of talent within the Flyers’ rotation. However, Memphis was a cover machine, and I honestly see no reason why that would change here. I can imagine that Memphis feels a bit slighted for being left out of the NCAA tournament field, and I think that this is the Memphis revenge tour, this NIT tournament. I’ll back the Tigers to win this one and cover the number in the process.