There is no shortage of folks saying that Xavier is going to be the first No. 1 seed to crash out of the tournament, but not in the first round, especially against Texas Southern. College basketball is crazy though. Read on for a preview of this matchup below.
Betting Preview for the Texas Southern Tigers vs. Xavier Musketeers College Basketball Game on March 16, 2018
Texas Southern has won the right to face Xavier in the first round of the tournament after mopping the floor using North Carolina Central in the First Four in a dominant 64-46 win. The job gets exponentially harder for the Tigers against Xavier, and if Mark Davis’ boys are to take down a serious title contender like Xavier, then they should be at their finest form on both ends of the court. The Tigers finished the regular season first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference first in scoring with 77.6 points per game. The focal point of the Tigers’ offense is Demontrae Jefferson, who also paced the conference with 23.4 points. Against NCCU, Jefferson led his team with 25 points with three triples. Deonte Clark (18.0 PPG), meanwhile, chipped in 18 points. If anything, at least the Tigers are going to be matched up against what many perceive as the “weakest” No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Betting on the Xavier Musketeers
Finally, Xavier knows which team team it will run over in the first round. Unless anything crazy happens, the Musketeers are virtually a lock to win against Texas Southern, a team that is sub-150 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency and sub-300 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Especially with that kind of defense, the Tigers’ defense will likely look like something that’s made of sticks and stones against Xavier’s bulldozer offense. The Musketeers are seventh in the nation in scoring with 84.3 points per game. They are 20th in effective field goal percentage (55.7) and 16th in field goal percentage (49.1). Trevor Bluiett (19.5 PPG) and J.P. Macura (12.2 PPG) should be more enough for the Musketeers to take out Texas Southern. On defense, Xavier is allowing 74.5 points per game, but given the difference in talent level between Chris Mack’s team and the Tigers, the Musketeers should have an easy time containing Texas Southern.
