Texas Christian vs. Seton Hall Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
First Round action in the South Region comes to a close on Friday night, as the eighth-seeded Seton Hall Pirates take on the No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs. The Pirates return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2019 on the strength of an at-large bid after making an early exit from the Big East Tournament with a 62-52 quarter-final loss to Connecticut. The Horned Frogs are coming off a dismal 1-3 straight up run, capped by a crushing 75-62 loss to Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament semi-final, and are searching for their first March madness victory since 1987.
Despite their strong finish, the Pirates have faded since opening as slim favourites in Friday’s contest, which is now pegged as a pick’em. The total has remained stable at 130.
Texas Christian Horned Frogs vs. Seton Hall Pirates NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Friday night’s matchup at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl in San Diego is scheduled for 9:57pm ET, and marks the first ever meeting between these two teams.
The Horned Frogs have posted wins in just five of 13 contests, including outright losses in two of three as betting chalk, but have gone 6-2-1 against the spread over their past nine. It is important to note that eight of their past 11 contests have come against nationally ranked opponents, with TCU posting recent wins over the No. 6 Jayhawks, No. 9 Texas Tech, and No. 22 Texas. The TCU defence has also remained resilient, allowing just 67.8 points per game over their past six contests. In addition to powering a 5-0 run for the UNDER, that stinginess has vaulted TCU to No. 24 in adjusted defensive efficiency at Kenpom.
The Pirates are coming off their worst offensive performance of the season in last week’s loss to the Huskies. The defeat snapped a 6-0 run and marked their fifth against the spread defeat in seven outings. However, the Pirates have surrendered an average of just 61.9 points over their past seven outings. That has generated a 13-3 boon for UNDER bettors. And while this team has earned just one win in seven overall game appearances at March Madness since 2004, they are unbeaten in three previous First Round appearances as a No. 8 seed.
Texas Christian Horned Frogs (12)
The Horned Frogs must avoid the slow starts that have marked their past two outings. The team needed an epic second-half performance in their 65-60 quarter-final win over the Longhorns after mustering just 22 points before recess, and trailed by as many as 19 points in the first-half in their subsequent loss to the Jayhawks. TCU has enjoyed the benefit of distributed scoring of late, with at least three Horned Frog shooters tallying double-digit point totals in six of their past seven outings.
Seton Hall Pirates (5)
Jared Rhoden has led the Pirates attack throughout the season, and leads the team with 15.9 points per game. However, it was another senior that elevated his game down the stretch. Myles Cale played some of his best ball of the season while averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 boards in two Big East Tournament outings, and racked up a team-high 17 points in last week’s loss to UConn.
