Three factors favor the visitors, and the main one is all about threes. Central Michigan has piled up 34 three-point makes in the last two games. Both occurred on the road, so a different setting should not throw off their accuracy against a team vulnerable to the shot. Two, Liberty has been off 12 days with the quirky CIT schedule. Two ailing players were able to recover, but the rust will impair the Flames. Lastly, the Flames rely on free throws for an oversized percentage of their points, but the Chippewas foul infrequently.

My data forecasts slight underdog Central Michigan winning outright at least 63 percent of the time against Liberty in Saturday's CIT quarterfinal game. This offers a major value side with the plus-money payback on the money line. The Chippewas are 16-5-1 ATS in their past 22 non-conference games and 5-0-1 ATS this year after scoring 90 or more points in their previous game.