T.M. Selection: Dayton.

I like Dayton to cover the spread against Toledo in this game on Wednesday. Dayton was not able to win their conference tournament and get a bid to the tournament, losing to Richmond who went on to win the whole thing, but I still think they have looked good in their games lately and I expect them to make a deep run here in the NIT. They have not been winning their games impressively but they are finding ways to win close games at the moment and they have taken down some good teams as of late. I think they can win this game on the defensive end of the court and I expect to see a good defensive effort from them here. They have looked really good with their defensive play in their games this year and they have been able to hold a lot of opposing teams to less than 70 points in their games. I think that is going to play a big role in them winning this game and I think they can shut down the offense of Toledo here. Toledo had a great year finishing in 1st place of their conference but it means nothing since they looked terrible in their conference tournament and lost in their 2nd game, having to settle for the NIT instead. They only squeaked by the 1st round with a 1 point win over Central Michigan who were terrible during the year at 6-12 in their conference play. They ended up getting taken out in the very next round with Akron beating them by 8 points. Toledo did win a lot of their games by 10+ points during the regular season but this is tournament which is a whole new animal, and Dayton plays in a much tougher conference with stronger teams than Toledo does. Dayton was 1 of the best teams in their conference all year and I think they can win this game over Toledo. Toledo wasn't met with much resistance during their regular season games but I think they are going to run into a wall that is Dayton's defense and I expect Toledo to struggle more than they have in a while in this game. I like Dayton to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 74-67 Dayton.