Texas Southern vs. Mount St. Mary’s: First Four Odds, March Madness Prediction
The first game of the 2021 men’s NCAA Tournament features No. 16 seeds Texas Southern and Mount St. Mary’s meeting in the East Region of the First Four from Bloomington, Ind., on Thursday. Texas Southern opened as a 2-point favourite on the college basketball odds with a total of 133.0.
Texas Southern Tigers vs. Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this First Four game, which is being played on the campus of the University of Indiana – all NCAA Tournament games this year are played in or around the Indianapolis area – will face East Region top seed Michigan on Saturday afternoon and will obviously be a massive underdog there. A No. 16 has beaten a No. 1 only once in tournament history.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Texas Southern and Mount St. Mary’s. The Tigers (Texas Southern) are 7-1-1 against the spread in their past nine neutral-site games. The Mountaineers are 6-2 ATS in their past eight vs. teams with a winning record.
(16) Texas Southern Tigers
Texas Southern (16-8) finished third in the SWAC regular-season standings but then won the conference tournament final over regular-season champion Prairie View A&M, 80-61. It was the Tigers’ ninth all-time SWAC Tournament win and thus ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, first since 2018 and first for head coach Johnny Jones. Texas Southern is 1-8 all-time in the Big Dance with that victory as a No. 16 seed over fellow No. 16 North Carolina Central in the 2018 First Four. Guard Michael Weathers is the star and was the SWAC Tournament MVP. He averages 16.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals. He hit the game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation of the conference tournament semifinals and another late in OT. Texas Southern is 4-0 ATS in its past four.
(16) Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Mount St. Mary’s (12-10) was third in the Northeast Conference regular-season standings but won the tournament title 73-68 over second-place Bryant. Tournament MVP Nana Opoku had 18 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. The Mount was the top defensive team in the NEC and held Bryant to 38.5 per cent shooting and blocked 10 shots. Opoku was the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. It’s the sixth all-time appearance in the Big Dance for the Mountaineers. They are 2-5 in the NCAA Tournament, last reaching in 2017 and beating fellow No. 16 seed New Orleans in the First Four.
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