The Illinois State Redbirds will be at Old Dominion in the NIT Tournament tonight, and they are getting points. The Redbirds finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Wichita State and Northern Iowa, and I give them a little more credit for their record than I do the Monarchs who finished second in C-USA.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Previous History - These teams met back in November at the Virgin Islands, and Illinois State won by a score of 64-45. The Monarchs have not been a good bet against teams with a winning record, failing to cover in seven of their last 10. They have also failed to cover in four of their last five versus teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.

2. Injuries - The Monarchs leading scorer Trey Freeman is bothered by a nagging ankle injury, and he's officially listed as questionable to play tonight.

3. X-Factor - The Redbirds have covered in four straight versus opponents from the C-USA, and six of their last seven non-conference games.

Selection: This is a play on the Illinois State Redbirds (8*)