The Best Team not in the Tournament - St. Mary's vs. San Diego St

The mid-major college basketball leagues were not represented all that well in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, but the NIT Quarterfinals looks like the perfect showcase for two of the top teams tonight.

St. Mary’s College and San Diego State will collide with a trip to the world’s most famous basketball arena, Madison Square Garden in New York, on the line in the NIT tonight at 9 p.m.

The Aztecs of San Diego State are listed as the favorite with a spread of -3 1/2 , with an over/under of 128 ½ listed on the BetUs Sportsbook.

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While on school of thought on this NIT matchup is that San Diego State should have a big edge being a home, another one is that St. Mary’s is perhaps a little bit more motivated since they were considered one of, if not the top snubs for the NCAA Tournament when the brackets were announced two Sundays ago.

Usually in the NIT, it’s easy to find out right away if a team is taking it seriously or not based on their play in the early games. Some good teams go out right away or struggle against inferior competition while others play with a chip on their shoulder and try to prove a point that they were unfairly passed over by going all out and trying to win the NIT.

The Gaels seem to be doing the latter, and having star point guard Patrick Mills back in the lineup from injury for good has a lot to do with it. They blew out Eastern Washington to start the NIT and then scored an 11-point win over Washington State, a Pac-10 team that played very well down the stretch and pulled some upsets over other top league teams. They also took care of Stephen Curry and Davidson in their last game with Mills notching 23 points and 10 assists.

San Diego State has also taken care of business thus far in the NIT as well. But the difference in this game will be Mills as he teams with Omar Samhan and Diamon Simpson to give the Gaels three legitimate big-time scorers at the college level that San Diego State will have a hard time containing.

Mills has the ability to control the tempo and take over this game on the road, and his steady hand and ability to be the go-to guy down the stretch will at least keep St. Mary’s close enough to cover the spread in this one.

Steve Fisher’s bunch has been extremely stout on defense all year long and very good at home, but St. Mary’s won’t be intimidated as they went 9-3 on the road this year.

St. Mary’s is the pick in this one as they end up winning and advancing to the NIT’s version of the Final Four.