Posted on 3/19/2008 5:02:48 PM

NCAA Invitational Basketball Betting Cleveland State at Dayton

By Charles Jay

BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: Dayton -8.5

It'll be a battle of Ohio, in a sense, come Wednesday night whn the Cleveland State Vikings (21-12 SU, 18-12 ATS) take on the Dayton Flyers (21-10 SU, 12-14 ATS) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) at the Dayton Arena in a game that tips off at 6 PM ET.

In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, Dayton is listed as an 8.5-point favorite.

Here are some of the NCAA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* CSU has covered seven of its last eight games

* CSU has won four of its last five games SU

* CSU has lost six of its last eight road games SU

* CSU has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total

* DAY has covered five of its last 16 games

* DAY has won four of its last five games SU

* DAY has played four of its last five games OVER the total

* DAY has covered two of its last six home games

* DAY has won 17 of its last 20 home games SU

Dayton went into the NCAA selection process with an RPI rating of 32, but truth be told, the Flyers were living off wins that it had achieved earlier in the season, over Louisville and Pittsburgh teams that were beset by injuries.

Brian Roberts (18.4 ppg) is a potentially explosive scorer, and hits 45% from beyond the arc. But Dayton suffered badly from the injury bug; when Charles Little and Chris Wright went down, the Flyers became an ordinary team. Wright's loss was particularly painful, as he was a rare highly-recruited freshman signee. Little has since come back to action, but he isn't as assertive as he was before. And Wright may or may not return to the lineup, but even if he does come back his ankle injury won't allow him to get enough lift on his jump to be truly effective.

Cleveland State is a team that experienced a rebirth under coach Gary Waters. The emergence of St. John's transfer Cedric Jackson as the team leader has been powerful, and J'Nathan Bullock provided bulk and inside scoring to give the Vikes an added dimension. This is a well-drilled, mentally tough team that beat Butler and could have easily beaten the Bulldogs again. They're in a better place than Dayton right now.

And Dayton's shortcomings at the free throw line (under 64%) won't help them either. Let's take the points with Cleveland State, the 8.5-point underdog in the BetUS March Madness betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: CLEVELAND STATE

Go to the BetUS.com online sportsbook today to bet on NCAA basketball. We have the most current NCAA basketball odds and lines, as well as player and game props. Join BetUS.com to experience the best in online sports betting action!

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)