For the second straight season, the Texas Southern Tigers and the North Carolina Central Eagles are in the NCAA Tournament. However, while both teams won their respective conferences in the regular season and the postseason last year, both teams are playing Cinderella this time.
Texas Southern won the SWAC despite having an 8-19 record in late February. The Tigers got hot at the right time though, winning seven straight to grab the conference’s automatic bid.
As for North Carolina Central, the Eagles ran the gauntlet to win the MEAC. This year, the MEAC had plenty of good teams, but no great team, and the Eagles took advantage by winning four games in five days to take the crown.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, March 14, 2018, at 6:40 p.m. ET at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be televised live on truTV. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Texas Southern -4
North Carolina Central +4
Over/Under Check Back Later
The Eagles made some people good money during their run through the MEAC. North Carolina Central picked up the cover in all four games, and even pulled off two outright upsets according to the NCAAB betting line. Its win over No. 1 seed Hampton was especially nice as they were a decent-size underdog per the CBB betting odds in that one.
Texas Southern is one of the best stories of the season. The Tigers lost their first 13 games of the season, but then went 15-6 over the last two months to get to this point. Their play in the latter half of the season caught the eye of the oddsmakers who made them a favorite in every game of the SWAC Tournament. That was no matter to the Tigers, who covered NCAA betting lines of 12.5, 3, and 6 with ease on their way to winning the conference.
With that being said, the initial action was on NC Central in this one. The CBB odds had the Eagles as a five-point underdog, but it has since moved down a full point.
Player to Watch
Demontrae Jefferson is one of the most exciting players in the country. Jefferson is only 5’7, but he packs a big punch with his play.
Jefferson is a volume scorer and is not afraid to let it fly from range. He averages more than eight three-point attempts per game and will pull up and fire no matter where he is on the court.
For the most part, it’s worked out for Texas Southern. He is hitting 39.4 percent of his threes, so you can’t fault him with a percentage like that.
However, he struggled mightily down the stretch. Over his last four games, Jefferson was 21-66 from the field and 5-25 from beyond the arc. The Tigers can’t win with numbers like that.
Key Stat
According to Ken Pomeroy, NC Central is the worst team in the NCAA Tournament by a wide margin. The Eagles are the one team outside of the top 300 according to his ratings, 60 spots behind their opponent.
NC Central does have a decent defense though, and the Eagles will be relying on that to get past the Tigers. The team is holding opponents to 41.8 percent from the floor on the year.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
A lot of people are going to go with the Tigers to win this one, but the Eagles are going to get the win thanks to some good defense and great play from center Raasean Davis. Davis can take over a game provided he stays out of early foul trouble and will play contained enough to stay on the court for 30 minutes in an NC Central upset.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: North Carolina Central 78, Texas Southern 75
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