Texas Southern vs. North Carolina Central: First Four Odds, March Madness Prediction
Texas Southern finished tied for second in the SWAC regular-season standings and knocked off Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the conference tournament title game for its seventh straight victory.
NCAA Tournament Odds and Betting Analysis
It’s the eighth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for Texas Southern and they are 0-7 – generally getting blown out. That was the case in the first round last year, lowing 103-64 to eventual national champion North Carolina. This year’s NCAA matchup might be a game-changer for them.
North Carolina Central was the sixth-place team in the MEAC but upset Hampton 71-63 in the tournament title game. It’s the third Big Dance appearance for the Eagles, who are 0-2 in it. They were in the First Four last year as well and lost by four to UC Davis.
West Region top-seeded Xavier faces the winner on Friday in Nashville.
Texas Southern Tigers
There likely is one Tiger casual NCAA basketball fans have heard of: Coach Mike Davis. He led Indiana to the 2002 Final Four as its head coach and was Bobby Knight’s successor. The star for Texas Southern (15-19, 6-1 ATS) is sophomore guard Demontrae Jefferson, who averages 23.4 points per game. It also has a 7-foot-2 center named Trayvon Reed, who can cause havoc down low. He averages 9.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. I would argue that no school had a more unusual non-conference schedule this year than Texas Southern. Its first 13 games were all away from home and at teams such as Gonzaga, Ohio State, Syracuse, Clemson, Oregon, Baylor and TCU. The Tigers lost all 13 of them. That’s why they are the only club with a losing overall record in this year’s tournament, but it’s misleading.
North Carolina Central Eagles
The Eagles (19-15, 5-1 ATS) are led by bruising junior big man Raasean Davis, a transfer from Kent State. He puts up 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 66.4 percent from the field. Coach LeVelle Moton – who is good friends with Texas Southern’s Davis — goes deep into his bench with 12 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game and nearly half of the team’s scoring from reserves. Only two Historically Black Colleges and University conferences earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament: the SWAC and MEAC.
