The top sportsbooks have released their NCAAB odds for the upcoming NCAA Tournament games: Bryant vs. Wright State are competing against each other in a play-in game, which means that the winner will join the big bracket. The winner will play Arizona, which is the top team in the South Region.
Both Bryant and Wright State suffered horrid starts to their season. However, they are playing well right now, which is the time that matters most. Bryant won the Northeast Conference by blowing out Wagner in a game that will be most remembered for the brawl in the stands.
Wright State won the Horizon League after inching past a Northern Kentucky team that had beaten it twice in the regular season. For reasons that I will explain, you should play the spread for this college basketball game.
Bryant University Bulldogs vs. Wright State Raiders
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 – 06:40 PM EDT at UD Arena
Neither team has faced the same opponent. However, they have faced comparable teams. Both schools, for example, faced an ACC squad. Wright State won by 14 at NC State. Bryant lost by 23 at a Clemson squad that was somewhat stronger than the Wolfpack this season.
More impressive than a superior non-conference resume is a fact that Wright State essentially gets to play at home. The Raiders are based in Dayton, Ohio, which is where this game will be played.
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It is true that Raider fans have expressed disappointment regarding the allotment of tickets. However, the Dayton fans being prioritized by the initial sale of tickets could root for the local team. Plus, many of them will likely sell their tickets. The local buyers to who they sell their tickets will most probably support Wright State.
Despite the fact that their team is not playing in their home arena, the crowd should be very pro-Wright State. In what will be the first truly March atmosphere since the pre-COVID-19 era, the Raider crowd will help out its team.
Wright State's Weaknesses Won't Matter
Its advantages for this game notwithstanding, Wright State is an imperfect team. Two notable flaws are its lack of bench and its lack of size. However, Bryant lacks the personnel to exploit these weaknesses. The Bulldogs aren't big because they want centers and power forwards who can run up and down the court. Moreover, they don't make much use of their bench.
Bryant is all about running and attacking. The Bulldogs will take just about every chance they get to initiate their transition offense -- whether they grab a rebound, block a shot, steal a pass, etc.
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Given their playstyle, they own the nation's seventh-fastest adjusted tempo. They rank among the nation's leaders in field goals attempted in transition. They're sort of built for this style. Most glaringly, their lack of a bench is odd because the fast tempo must produce the necessity to rotate more players into the game.
I like Wright State because it owns one of the nation's stronger transition defenses. Nationally, it ranks in the top third in limiting the opposing eFG% in transition. While the Raiders haven't played anyone quite like Bryant, they have competed and thrived against other squads like Cleveland State who do share Bryant's proclivity to run up and down the court.
They have shown enough to make me think that they can deter the Bulldog offense from scoring in the way it most prefers to score, which is in transition.
Wright State's Half-Court Offense
The Raiders like to operate in the half-court, especially through Grant Basile. Basile has quick feet which allow him to operate smoothly inside and he has a nice, soft touch in front of the basket.
Outside a couple of guys who foul a lot -- which is important to note because Basile is efficient from the free-throw line -- the Bulldogs lack the shot-blocking personnel to contain guys like Basile.
Hence, they've repeatedly allowed opposing bigs to flourish with efficient outputs. When LIU surprised them, their power forward had a monster game.
Bryant's Half-Court Offense
When the Bulldogs aren't trying to run but are seeking to score in their half-court offense, then they will likely try first to generate a favorable-looking three-point attempt. Despite being horribly inefficient from beyond the arc, only a few teams in the nation attempt threes at a higher rate than Bryant does and nobody in its conference does.
Raider defenders, though, are attentive to the perimeter. They will close out hard on an opposing shooter, choosing to run him off the three-point line so that he may instead attempt a two-pointer. Their attentiveness to the perimeter is evident in the fact that Wright State ranks 68th nationally at limiting the opposing's ratio of three-point attempts.
For the above reasons, play Wright State with your NCAAB picks.
NCAAB Pick: Wright State -3 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
