The Stanford Cardinal and the Miami Hurricanes will meet in the NIT Final at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, and Stanford is a small favorite. The Cardinal appear to be peaking at the right time, and I think they come in as the hotter of the two teams. The price is right to back Stanford.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Chasson Randle - The senior guard led all scorers with 24 points versus Old Dominion, and he's looking to put a punctuation mark on his career in Palo-Alto. Randle led the Cardinal in scoring this season averaging 18.9 point per game.

2. Injuries - Stanford comes in healthy, while Miami has a couple of injuries to key players. Angel Rodriguez has missed the last three games with a wrist injury, and is listed as doubtful to play tonight. They also had a tough break in the win over Temple, losing their center Tonye Jekiri to a concussion.

3. X-Factor - The Cardinal shot 7-of-14 (50%) from beyond the arc against Old Dominion, and had a much higher average with three-point shooting during the season.

Selection: This is a play on the Stanford Cardinal (10*)