Wright State vs Northern Kentucky Odds and Picks for Horizon League Championship Game

• The Horizon League Tournament title will be on the line when the Northern Kentucky Norse take on the Wright State Raiders
• The Norse have claimed the title in three of the past five years, while the Raiders search for just their second championship in seven appearances in the final
• Read on for the Wright State vs Northern Kentucky odds and trends ahead of Tuesday night’s Horizon League Tournament final at Indiana Farmers Coliseum

The Horizon League Tournament championship and a berth in the 2022 NCAA Tournament will be up for grabs on Tuesday, when the Northern Kentucky Norse take on the Wright State Raiders. Tip-off is set for 7:00pm ET on Tuesday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

Wright State vs Northern Kentucky Odds

Odds at BetMGM as of March 8, 2022.

Crowned as tournament champions in three of the past five years, the Norse look to Tuesday night’s final perched as slim 1.5-point favorites. The Raiders return to the tournament final for the first time since 2019 sporting competitive +100 moneyline odds, while the total sits at 134.5 in the college basketball odds.

Raiders vs Norse Betting Trends

Tuesday night’s matchup marks the third overall meeting of the season between these conference rivals, and the second time in four years that they have met in the Horizon League Tournament final. The Norse claimed outright victories in each of their two regular-season tilts, capped by a 75-71 win as 6-point road underdogs on February 13.

Overall Northern Kentucky has won outright three times during their current 4-0 against the spread run in head-to-head action, and are undefeated in two previous March dates with the Raiders, including a decisive 77-66 win in the 2019 Horizon league Tournament final.

NKU has averaged 76.5 points per game during its current win streak versus the Raiders, maintaining a steady run for the OVER in totals betting, which has gone 6-2 over their past eight meetings.

Northern Kentucky completes the season sweep of Wright State, beating the Raiders 75-71. Sam Vinson led the Norse with 20 points. #HLMBB

— HoriZone Roundtable (@HoriZoneRT) February 13, 2022

The Norse punched their ticket to the tournament final with a steady defensive effort in Monday night’s 57-43 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. Overall, third-seeded NKU have surrendered an average of just 58.3 points over their past nine contests, and have seen each of their four most recent victories come by double-digit margins.

The fourth-seeded Raiders earned their berth in Tuesday’s final by upsetting the defending tournament champion and Horizon League betting favorite Cleveland State in a decisive 82-67 victory on Monday. That came three days after knocking off Oakland. Heading into the tournament, Cleveland State and Oakland were the two highest-rated Horizon League teams at KenPom.

Wright State has now won four in a row since struggling through a late-season 1-3 swoon. However, the Raiders have endured hard luck at past editions of this tournament, losing five of their past six appearances in the final. If they do finish the job, the they project as a #16 seed in the latest March Madness bracket.

Wright State Raiders Outlook

Now seeking to win five in a row in conference play for the first time this season, the Raiders are coming off a stellar performance in Monday night’s semi-final win over Cleveland State. The squad snapped a worrying run of slow starts by seizing an early lead they would not relinquish.

The Raiders also maintained their recent steady play after recess by tallying 46 points, and have now averaged 45.9 second-half points over a seven-game stretch that began with a last month’s 75-71 loss to the Norse.

Grant Basile's rebound among the best in the nation: ranking 22nd nationally with 265 total rebounds, No. 39 nationally in total rebounds/game average with his 8.5 boards per contest. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/fniZIKrgA3

— 🐺MadnessWSU🐺 (@madness_WSU) March 3, 2022

While Tanner Holden enters Tuesday’s contest as the team’s scoring leader with 19.8 points per game, it has been Grant Basile who has led the charge in recent outings. The junior big man recorded his second double-double of the tournament with Monday’s 27-point, 11-rebound performance versus the Vikings, and has averaged 22.1 points per game over his past seven outings.

Northern Kentucky Norse Outlook

The Norse have been a model of consistency since opening their conference schedule on a middling 2-4 SU run. The squad has won outright in 14 of 16 since, including six outright wins as betting underdogs. That success has also extended to their four most recent outings, in which they won and covered as betting chalk. That includes Monday’s win over Purdue Fort Wayne, which also marked their second best defensive performance of the campaign.

Ex-Henry Clay star Marques Warrick goes for 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists & 2 steals to lead Northern Kentucky to a 57-43 win over Purdue-Fort Wayne in the Horizon League Tournament SFs. Darrin Horn’s Norse will play Wright St Tuesday night for a berth in the NCAA Tournament

— Mark Story (@markcstory) March 8, 2022

Despite their recent defensive stinginess, the Norse continue to lag in the Kenpom ratings, where they at No. 192 overall, and a distant 220th in adjusted offensive efficiency. Indeed, shooting just 39.3% from the field in Monday’s win over the Mastodons does not help matters. However, NKU has continued to get steady production out of leading scorer Marques Warrick, who has averaged 22 points at this year’s tournament, and 24.6 points per game over his past five outings.

Raiders vs Norse Prediction

The Norse have exceeded expectations throughout the season, but cannot afford any offensive letdowns against a Raiders squad that is peaking at the right time.

The Pick: Raiders to win (+100); OVER 134.5 (-110)