The No. 16 Texas Southern Tigers (16-19) meet the No. 1 Xavier Musketeers (28-5) in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. The game gets underway at 7:20 p.m. ET on Friday, March 16, 2018.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the game opened at 160.5 points with Xavier set as a 19.5-point favorite.
Texas Southern Tigers vs. Xavier Musketeers Free Prediction
The Tigers will be hoping for similar success after thoroughly outplaying the No. 16 North Carolina Central Eagles in the First Four, 64-46. One of Texas Southern’s biggest strengths was their ability to convert at the free throw line. They were 16-19 (84.2 percent), while the Eagles were just 4-6 (66.7 percent). Texas Southern was led by Demontrae Jefferson, who was the top scorer from either team with 25 points on 8-for-18 shooting.
In the Big East Conference Tourney, the Musketeers lost a tough one against the Providence Friars, 75-72. Providence’s 8.8 turnover percentage was their largest strength over Xavier, who had a rate of 10.7. The Friars’ mark was better than their season average of 15.7. Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett put up 13 points and six rebounds in the contest.
The high-powered offense of Xavier (14th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 117.2) will face off against the porous defense of Texas Southern (285th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 108.7). The Musketeers should have the edge on that end of the court. Furthermore, the Tigers are among the NCAA’s best at getting to the line, ranking sixth in free throw attempt (FTA) rate (0.310). The Musketeers, however, rank 25th at keeping opponents off the charity stripe with an opponents’ FTA rate of 0.186.
Texas Southern comes into the game with records of 16-19 straight up (SU) and 7-1 against the spread (ATS). Vegas is exceedingly accurate when setting the total of Tigers games, with an even split between overs and unders.
Meanwhile, Xavier is 28-5 SU and 21-12 ATS. Vegas tends to set the total low when the Musketeers are involved, as 56.3 percent of their games have finished over the O/U total.
Texas Southern Tigers vs. Xavier Musketeers Odds Pick
Basketball Pick: SU Winner – Xavier, ATS Winner – Texas Southern, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
Xavier ranks 20th in rebounds allowed per game (31.2) while Texas Southern ranks 272nd (38.2).
The Musketeers average 16.6 assists per game, which ranks 20th in the NCAA. The Tigers rank 264th in assists allowed per game (15.7).
Texas Southern ranks 125th in three-pointers allowed per game (21.1) while Xavier ranks 297th (25.9).
The Tigers rank 39th in steals allowed per game (5.3) while the Musketeers rank 169th (6.6).
Texas Southern averages 4.1 blocks per game, which ranks 65th in the nation. Xavier ranks 160th in blocks allowed per game (3.6).
Bettings Trends:
The Tigers have outscored opponents by an average of 13.6 points in their last five games. On the season, Texas Southern has lost by an average of 1.5 points.
During their last five games, the Musketeers have scored an average of 79.6 points per game (4.7 below their season average) and allowed an average of 69.6 points per game (4.9 below their season average).
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