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Posted at 1:00 PM EST.

7:00 PM EST. Be careful this time of year, as there are more intangibles in play in this sport at this time of year than any other time of year or sport. We always tread lightly the last week of the regular season because of it but trust we found some decent spots tonight. One has to remember that these are not pros. These are kids playing a game they love and they’re also playing during one of the most memorable times of their young lives. They make lifetime memories and friends during the four or five years at college or university and for some of them, it all ends tonight in their final regular season game of the year or what is better known as Senior Night. With that comes distractions. There is the distraction of having parents, friends, siblings and family all in attendance. There are exams upcoming and to top it all off, every single player wants to participate in March Madness. It’s one of the most watched sporting events of the year in America and it’s a dream to be in it.

These are kids with a chance to play in front a television audience in the millions. Every game during the event is on national TV. To be 17 or 18-years-old and be given the opportunity and play on a stage that big is a thrill to be sure and for the players on Central Michigan, they have all of the above on their minds. The Chippewas are a threat to win the upcoming MAC tournament and earn an automatic bid but they have no shot of an at-large bid so these final two games mean zilch. This wager has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with fading the superior team in what is an extremely vulnerable spot. How do we know it’s such a vulnerable spot? We don’t but the number says it is.

You see, the Chips are at home, where they are 12-3. NIU is 3-9 on the road. The Chips are 20-9 overall while NIU is 13-16 overall. These two played in Northern Illinois back in mid-January and the Chips won by nine. Now the Chips are only -4 or -4½ over NIU in a game in which it looks like the sportsbooks are giving away money in, only we don’t want any. Seriously, the oddsmakers have all the data and are very aware of where the money is going here. However, they hung a number that is so enticing that it is near impossible to bet the underdog with confidence. The sportsbooks are on their knees begging us to spot points with Central Michigan but the price tells us to take the dog because that’s the prudent choice. We’ll oblige.

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