The Towson men’s basketball team will make its first-ever National Invitational Tournament (NIT) appearance on Wednesday when it takes on Wake Forest. The Tigers, a No. 7 seed, will travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for the contest with the No. 2 seed.
Towson is coming off a 25-win campaign, tying a program record for the most Division I wins in a single season. Led by Nicolas Timberlake‘s 14.5 points per game, the Tigers were able to capture a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title, which earned them the NIT berth.
Wake Forest, meanwhile, is one of the better teams in this year’s NIT field, boasting a 23-9 record. It is led by Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year Alondes Williams, who averaged 19.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season. The Oklahoma transfer also registered 1.2 steals per game for the Demon Deacons.
What the odds say
Heading into Wednesday’s action, most sportsbooks favor the Demon Deacons by roughly eight points. Caesars gives the higher-seeded team exactly that over the Tigers. The Caesars Sportsbook in Maryland is found inside the Horseshoe Baltimore.
The over/under, meanwhile, sits at 147.5 points. Something will have to give in this one. Wake Forest boasts a top-15 scoring offense nationally at 79.5 points per game, while Towson’s defense holds opponents to just 64 per game (No. 37 in the country).
If betting on the moneyline, Towson currently acts as a +295 underdog, while Wake Forest sits at -355, according to Caesars.
You can place a bet on Towson at five of the six Maryland casinos. The only property without a sportsbook is Rocky Gap Casino.
Tigers’ March Madness history
Wednesday’s game will be Towson’s first postseason appearance since 2015-16 when it qualified for the Vegas 16 Tournament. The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Oakland.
Towson has two Division I NCAA Tournament berths in its history. They went dancing in 1990 and 1991. The program also qualified for the Division II tournament in 1997 and 1998.
How to watch Towson-Wake Forest in NIT
Tip-off between the Tigers and Demon Deacons is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET from Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wake Forest’s campus. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Should Towson pull off the upset, it would advance to face the winner of VCU and Princeton.
