Purdue Fort Wayne vs Norfolk State Prediction & Best Bets (CIT Championship): Will the Mastodons Take the Title?

While Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers will continue their national championship quest on Friday night in the Sweet Sixteen against Gonzaga, Division I’s “other” Purdue, the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, will vie for a championship of their own tonight. In the championship game of the 2024 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, PFW will take on Norfolk State. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET at NSU’s Echols Hall.

The Spartans (23-11), who lost to Howard in the championship game of the MEAC Tournament, are the #1 seed in the nine-team CIT field. That means that they directly passed through to the semifinals, where they defeated Alabama A&M 81-66 on Saturday.

Purdue Fort Wayne (23-12), meanwhile, reached tonight’s championship game with wins over Bowling Green (77-75) and Tarleton State (73-72). In both wins, a late basket by forward Eric Mulder provided the decisive points.

This is the fifth CIT appearance for both the Mastodons and Spartans and the first championship game appearance for both teams as well. Who will come away with the title? A Purdue Fort Wayne vs Norfolk State prediction and best bets are below.

Purdue Fort Wayne vs Norfolk State Odds

Odds are via BetOnline, a longtime fixture in the sports betting industry. Check out our BetOnline sportsbook review, then grab yourself a nice sign-up bonus to bet on today’s NIT, CBI, and CIT action.

Spread

• Purdue Fort Wayne -1.5 (-110)
• Norfolk State +1.5 (-110)

Over/Under

• Over 145.5 (-110)
• Under 145.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Purdue Fort Wayne -121
• Norfolk State +101

Looking for more picks for today’s games? Our NCAA basketball picks page features moneyline, spread, and total (over/under) picks for today’s NIT and CIT games.

Purdue Fort Wayne vs Norfolk State Betting Analysis and Prediction

With a win tonight, Norfolk State will finish 15-0 at home in a season for the first time in school history.

The Spartans’ biggest challenges this season have come away from home, but they do own home wins over CAA members Hampton and William & Mary.

Four of their home wins have come against non-Division I competition, which helps account for the fact that the Spartans are 4-6 ATS at home. They covered just once in their first seven home games against Division I foes, but they enter tonight’s game with Purdue Fort Wayne with three consecutive covers. Against Alabama A&M, NSU covered as a 10-point favorite.

This will be their first home game as an underdog this season, however. In that spot, the Spartans are 5-8 SU and 7-5-1 ATS, which includes a 63-60 win at VCU on December 1, when they were a 12.5-point underdog against the Rams.

For Purdue Fort Wayne, this will be their 20^th game as a favorite this season. In that spot, they are 14-5 SU and 12-7 ATS, with five straight covers coming into tonight.

In road and neutral-site games, the Mastodons have been pretty good to bettors, going 12-7 SU and 13-6 ATS, including 6-5 SU and 7-4 ATS as a road/neutral-site underdog.

Purdue Fort Wayne vs Norfolk State Players to Watch

Purdue Fort Wayne

• Jalen Jackson: 16.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG
• Rasheed Bello: 15.0 PPG, 4.1 APG, 2.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG
• Anthony Roberts: 13.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.8 SPG

Norfolk State

• Jamarii Thomas: 17.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.1 SPG, 39.1% 3PT
• Allen Bertrand: 11.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG
• Christian Ings: 8.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.1 APG

Will they come up big on the road to close out the season with a championship?

Purdue Fort Wayne is one of the better offensive teams in college basketball, ranking 32^nd in Division I in scoring (80.5 PPG), 50^th in field goal percentage (47.1%), and 59^th in three-point percentage (36.2%) while shooting (25.9, 36^th in Division I) and making (9.4, 27^th in Division I) a high volume from outside.

Norfolk State isn’t great against the three, ranking 194^th in that category (33.8%) while allowing a high number of attempts (23.7 per game, 283^rd in Division I). That could pose some big problems against a team that likes to shoot from outside. PFW’s Quinton Morton-Robertson is 23^rd in Division I in three-point percentage (40.9%) while ranking 38^th in makes per game (2.9). Jackson, the team’s leading scorer, doesn’t take a lot of threes, but he shoots 41.2% from outside.

I’ll account a bit for Norfolk State–who may or may not have leading scorer Thomas (17.1 PPG), who missed the Alabama A&M game due to injury–being at home and say that this will be a close game, but Purdue Fort Wayne is the better team and will claim the CIT championship.

Purdue Fort Wayne vs Norfolk State Best Bets

Purdue Fort Wayne -1.5 & Purdue Fort Wayne/Norfolk State Over 145.5

Other NCAA Basketball Betting Information

Where Can You Bet on the CIT?

Each year, millions upon of millions of March Madness bets are placed at the top online sports betting sites.

However, the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments are not the only college basketball action going on in late March.

The NIT is always entertaining, and game and futures odds are easy to find. Also, many sportsbooks also offer odds for the CBI (College Basketball Invitational) and CIT (College Insider Tournament), two other Division I men’s college basketball postseason tournaments.

Numerous sportsbooks are good for betting on March Madness and the other postseason tournaments. But in addition to BetOnline, here are some of the books that we have reviewed and highly recommend:

• BetDSI (Review)
• BetUS (Review)
• Bovada (Review)
• MyBookie (Review)

If you are unfamiliar with any of the above sites, check out our sportsbook reviews to learn more about them. Speaking of offers, keep an eye on the latest sportsbook offers from these books and others as the countdown to the opening tip of March Madness continues. That way, you will not miss out on any special sports betting promos and bonuses to pad your bankroll for March Madness betting.

Other March Madness Content at Betting News

If you’d like to check out our other March Madness content, our March Madness guide is where you can find it all in one tidy place. But here’s a rundown of some of what we have put together to help you with your NCAA Tournament betting this year.

• Men’s March Madness Futures Odds
• Women’s March Madness Futures Odds
• 2024 Men’s Final Four Odds
• Six Men’s March Madness Sleepers for 2024
• March Madness Betting Trends & Stats to Know for 2024
• Where to Find the Best March Madness Betting Picks
• Best March Madness Betting Sites for This Year
• This Year’s Best March Madness Bracket Challenges
• Betting News Bracket Mania (Our FREE March Madness Bracket Challenge!)

Interested in Learning More About Betting on March Madness & NCAA Basketball?

If you are interested in learning more about betting on men’s or women’s NCAA basketball, check out our college basketball betting guide. It covers the basics of wagering on March Madness, the Mountain West, the MAAC, McNeese State, and beyond.

• College Basketball Betting Guide: How to Bet on NCAA Basketball in 2024

Also, follow Betting News on X/Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok to get more March Madness and NCAA basketball insight from myself and the rest of our team. We’re cooking up a lot of great NCAA Tournament content for both the men’s and women’s tournaments, so hit those links so you don’t miss out on any of it.

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Who do you think will win this year’s CIT? Get your bets in at BetOnline, where you can get a 100% welcome bonus if your first deposit is with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, or another cryptocurrency.