The Penn State Nittany Lions have been figuring out ways to win, even with their defensive stalwart out of action and when their leading scorer has come up cold. Now they have a chance to advance to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as they oppose the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the semi-final game of the tournament, scheduled for 9 PM ET on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. If you are looking for a break in the odds, BetAnySports has reduced juice available for you, and if you want to place wagers in real-time while the action is in progress, you can access the technology from Live Betting Ultra.

Mississippi State won relatively tight games against Nebraska and Baylor, then blew out Louisville 79-56 behind 19 points and 14 rebounds from 6-4 guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, who works in the team's backcourt with his brother, Nick. The Bulldogs also have point Lamar Peters, who averages almost double figures and 4.5 assists per game. MSU is a much better offensive team from mid-range, as they shoot 55.4% from two-point territory, but the three-point accuracy is not there (31.7%).

Penn State is a solid defensive team, as they are ranked #18 in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, but a lot of that performance involved the exploits of Mike Watkins, the 6-9, 250-pound center who is not just a shot-blocker (averaging 2.3 per game) but also one of the better players on the offensive glass, as KenPom.com ranks him the sixth-best in defensive rebounding percentage. Watkins is out with a knee injury, so obviously coach Patrick Chambers has had to replace him somehow, and the combination of freshman John Harrar and senior Julian Moore has gotten that assignment, but while they have size, they don't have the impact of Watkins.

In the college basketball odds that have been posted on this NIT semi-final game, according to the folks at BetAnySports, the Nittany Lions are the favorites:

Penn State Nittany Lions -2.5
Mississippi State Bulldogs +2.5

Over 135 points -110
Under 135 points -110

A good matchup here involves Penn State's long-range shooters against Mississippi State's perimeter defense. Primarily the Bulldogs will be looking to slow down Tony Carr, the All-Big Ten guard who is very accurate from the arc (43.7%). Quinndary Weatherspoon has some length (6-4), which might make things occasionally uncomfortable out there on the outside. Carr can be stymied; he was just one-of-12 against Temple in the NIT's first round. But Josh Reaves picked up the slack there. And Lamar Stevens, the 6-8 forward, had 30 points against Marquette in the game that sent Penn State to the Garden.

Mississippi State's coach, Ben Howland, who took Pittsburgh to the Sweet Sixteen and UCLA to three straight Final Four appearances, is a guy who has always been able to design a defensive wrinkle or two. And perhaps what the Bulldogs will try to do is to run out against Penn State's perimeter shooters; after all, without Watkins there is less of an offensive post threat. Then maybe they can funnel people into the lane, where they have shot-blockers like Aric Holman and Abdul Ado, who between them have swatted away 3.7 shots per game. This could work for them, to the extent that we like the idea of grabbing the points.

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(The preceding information has been furnished for news matter only)