NCAA Tournament First Four Betting Preview: Grambling State Tigers vs. Montana State Bobcats
From Dayton on Wednesday, the Grambling State Tigers will take on the Montana State Bobcats. This is part of the Midwest Region, and the winner will take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Both teams are seeded 16th, and will participate in the play-in game:
Grambling State comes into the game after winning the SWAC. The Tigers have won nine out of their last ten games, including three in a row in the conference tournament. The conference title win came on March 16th over Texas Southern.
For the Montana State Bobcats, they are 17-17 on the season. After finishing fifth in the Big Sky Conference, they won three conference tournament games and were champions. They have won four straight games overall, including the title game by 15 over Montana.
The Montana State Bobcats are -3.5 over the Grambling State Tigers in this one on Wednesday.
Grambling State Tigers Dancing
The Grambling State Tigers started the season 2-10. The Tigers saw themselves play big time competition early in the season. In fact, the Tigers lost to tournament teams Colorado, Iowa State, Dayton, Washington State and Drake. That prepared them enough to lose just three conference games.
The Tigers are scoring 67.6 points per game, with KIntavious Dozier leading the way. Dozier is playing just shy of 27 minutes per game, and scoring 13.1 per game. Tra’Michael Moton is second on the team with 11.8 points per game.
Grambling State in the conference tournament started by getting revenge against Alabama State, 56-50. In the second round, they took care of Bethune by 13, and then knocked off Texas Southern by 9. This is the first SWAC title in school history for the Tigers.
Bobcats Want Purdue
The Montana State Bobcats would love a chance at Purdue. The Bobcats are .500, and have not faced the schedule that the Tigers have. They did lose early on to Long Beach State, and also Washington. Heading into the conference tournament, the Bobcats had lost six of their last nine games.
Robert Ford III is the leading scorer for Montana State. He is scoring 15.9 points per game, and making 48% of his shots. Eddie Turner III runs the point for Montana State, and is scoring 9.5 points and dishing out 3.7 assists per game. Brandon Walker is also picking up 13 points per game, making just shy of 56% of his shots.
Montana State in the conference tournament scored 91 in the opener against Weber State. The next game against Sacramento State came down to the end, as they won by three, and then they beat Montana by 15. Montana had beaten them by 19 earlier in the season.
Tigers Top Bobcats
We expect this to be a competitive game. Both teams obviously are playing good basketball right now. But, when push comes to shove, we are going to take the Grambling State Tigers. We like the Tigers toughness, and they have been battle tested with a tough schedule. We will take Grambling State on the moneyline at +130 over the Montana State Bobcats. Enjoy the game and best of luck!
