Montana State vs Northern Arizona Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 8 Big Sky Championship (Bobcats Stand Tall)

Montana State vs Northern Arizona Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Big Sky Tournament Championship
• Montana State (24-9, 15-3 Big Sky) vs. Northern Arizona (12-22, 5-13 Big Sky)
• Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
• Time: 11:30 PM ET
• Venue: Idaho Central Arena -- Boise, Idaho
• Coverage: ESPN2

Wednesday, March 8's NCAA college basketball lineup includes the Big Sky Tournament Championship Game between the Montana State Bobcats and Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

Montana State advanced to the tournament final with a 60-58 double-overtime win over Weber State, marking the Bobcats' seventh straight victory. On the other side, Northern Arizona continued proving the doubters wrong with an 83-71 effort against Montana to reach the conference final for the first time since 2008.

Can Montana State win the Big 12 Championship for the fourth time in program history? Or will Northern Arizona earn its first title in more than two decades?

Montana State vs Northern Arizona Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: MONTST: (-335) | NAU: (+265)
• Spread: MONTST: -7.5 (-110) | NAU: +7.5 (-110)
• Total: 135.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Montana State enters this contest as the clear favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 11:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 135.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Montana State vs Northern Arizona Betting Trends

• Montana State's record against the spread is 18-13-0.
• As 7.5-point favorites or more, the Bobcats are 8-4 against the spread.
• Out of 31 Montana State's games so far this year, 13 have gone over the total.
• Northern Arizona is 20-12-0 against the spread this year.
• The Lumberjacks are 11-3 as 7.5-point underdogs or more.
• This year, 20 of Northern Arizona's 32 games have hit the over.

Montana State Rank	Montana State AVG		Northern Arizona AVG	Northern Arizona Rank
126th	73.9	Points Scored	73.6	134th
70th	66.3	Points Allowed	74.4	299th
282nd	30	Rebounds	30.1	273rd
293rd	7.1	Off. Rebounds	7.9	233rd
300th	6.2	3pt Made	8.5	62nd
228th	12.5	Assists	13.4	154th
128th	11.4	Turnovers	10.2	33rd

Montana State vs Northern Arizona Prediction & Pick

Despite the wins that Northern Arizona has been putting up, it doesn't change that its defense is a weak spot. The Lumberjacks have a near-bottom-30 defense (75.9 PPG, No. 312) and have given up a 79.8 PPG clip over their last five games.

While Montana State only averages 70.6 PPG (No. 182), it still shoots the ball well. The Bobcats shoot 45.5% from the floor (No. 93) and 37.3% from the three-point line (No. 30). For reference, Northern Arizona averages the 16th-worst field-goal percentage allowed (48.2%) while allowing opponents to shoot 36.2% from beyond the arc (No. 293).

Montana State has also won nine straight games against Northern Arizona by an average of 6.4 points. The Bobcats are also the defending Big Sky champions and have eight players in this game from that championship roster.

In other words, Montana State has the experience to take home another title.

Final Score Prediction: Montana State: 76 | Northern Arizona: 70

Montana State vs Northern Arizona Best Bet

Montana State will win tonight, but covering the 7.5-point spread is another story. On top of being just 3-5 ATS in their last eight outings, the Bobcats have failed to cover the spread in five of their last seven outings as the favorite. Six of their last eight wins against the Lumberjacks have also come by fewer than 7.5 points.

Meanwhile, Northern Arizona is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 as the underdog, as well as 5-1 ATS in its last six outings overall. Considering that they're also 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20 matchups with the Bobcats, I like the Lumberjacks' chances of covering.

Bet: Northern Arizona +7.5 (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.