Just in case the NCAA Tournament hasn’t cured your college basketball cravings, the College Basketball Invitational begins its inaugural championship series Monday night. Tulsa and Bradley meet in a best-of-three series while the rest of the sports world will be focusing on the start of Major League Baseball, the Final Four and pro basketball.

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Caesars Palace installed Tulsa as a 5 ½-point home ‘chalk’ over Bradley, with the total set at 140 ½. This contest is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Bradley (20-15 straight up, 18-14 against the spread) knocked off Virginia Wednesday as a 6 ½-point road underdog, 96-85. The combined 181 points soared ‘over’ the 151 ½-point closing total, helping the ‘over’ go 11-1 its last 12 outings. That marked the second game in a row that the Braves covered. Bradley has already beaten Cincinnati and Ohio this postseason.

The Braves won the rebounding battle, 40-35, while shooting 48 percent (32-of-67) from the field. All five of their scorers reached double digits, led by Jeremy Crouch’s game-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting.

Bradley sports an 8-9 SU and 10-7 ATS road record, dropping those affairs by an average score of 75-74.

Tulsa (23-13 SU, 18-11 ATS) beat Houston Wednesday as a 3 ½-point home favorite, 73-69. The combined 142 points slithered ‘under’ the 143-point closing total, enabling the ‘under’ to improve to 4-1 the past five games.

The Golden Hurricane dominated the Cougars in rebounding, 49-26, while shooting 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field. Guard Ben Uzoh paced the offense with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Tulsa is now 16-2 SU and 11-3 ATS on its home court, covering all three contests during the CBI Tournament.

Brad Young can be reached at byoung@vegasinsider.com.