NCAA Tournament Betting Odds and Preview: Prairie View vs. Fairleigh Dickinson



Well known professional sports handicapper Ross Benjamin preview’s today’s NCAA Tournament contest between Prairie View A&M and Farleigh Dickinson.

The Prairie View A&M Panthers (22-12) and Farleigh Dickinson Knights (20-13) will square off on Tuesday in an NCAA Tournament play-in game at University of Dayton Arena. The opening tip is slated for 6:40 PM ET. The winner will have the unenviable task of facing West Region #1 seed Gonzaga on Thursday in Sal Lake City, Utah.

The NCAA Tournament odds at Bovada is currently displaying Fairleigh Dickinson as a 2.0-point favorite and there’s a posted total of 149.0.

Two Red-Hot Teams

Prairie View A&M is the regular season and SWAC Tournament champions. The Panthers can certainly be classified as a resilient bunch. After all, they began the season by losing 11 of its first 12 games. What followed may be one of the best kept secrets in college basketball. Prairie View A&M proceeded to go 21-1 in their next 22 contests and that includes their present 11-game winning streak. Additionally, the Panthers have covered in each of their last 6 outings.

First Four Farileigh Dickenson Prarie ViewFairleigh Dickinson enters "The Big Dance" riding an 8-game win streak of their own. The champions of the Northeast Conference have also covered on 7 of those 8 occasions. The Knights are a balanced team with 5 players averaging double-digits in scoring.

Panthers High Octane Offense

Prairie View A&M can be an explosive offensive team and that was quite evident throughout their last 6 outings. During that time, the Panthers scored an average of 87.7 points per game while shooting a blistering hot 52.8%.

Knights Excellent Shooting

During their current 8-game win streak, Fairleigh Dickinson has shot the ball extremely well. Throughout that span, the Knights have made an outstanding 54.7% of their field goal attempts. Furthermore, throughout their previous 5 games, FDU has made good on 44% of its 3-point attempts and have gone a superb 85% from the free throw line.

NCAA Tournament preview Prairie ViewIntangibles

Prairie View A&M is fully capable of neutralizing the 3-point shooting prowess of FDU. The Panthers are #31 nationally in 3-point defense while holding their opponents to a mere 30.8% conversion rate.
FDU has really locked down defensively in recent games. During their previous 7 outings, the Knights held its opponents to 61.4 points scored per game while allowing them to shoot only 38.5%.

Final Thoughts

Compared to previous NCAA Tournament play-in games pitting #16 seeds against one another, this one provides plenty of intrigue. Each team has been playing extremely well and over a substantial amount of time. Fasten your seatbelts because this inaugural game of the 2019 “Big Dance” points toward an absolute nail biter. The NCAA betting odds across the major offshore sportsbooks landscape are suggestive of just that.

Ross Benjamin is a top sports analyst and one of the sports industry's most respected handicappers. Follow him on Twitter: @RossBenjamin1 or visit his website at RBWins.com


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