In the first of four play-in games in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (23-11) will take on the Texas Southern Tigers (18-12). The winner of this First Four matchup will go on to face Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest region.
At first glance, there’s a lot of parity between these two teams. Although neither stands a chance against Kansas, this matchup should be decided by only a few possessions.
Texas Southern comes into the tournament off of a 25-point win over Alcorn State to win the SWAC Tournament. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, on the other hand, beat Southeastern Louisiana by eight points to win the Southland Tournament.
Let’s take a closer look and identify our favorite bets for this upcoming clash between two 16-seeds.
Texas Southern vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Odds
Texas Southern vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi odds are provided by BetMGM Sportsbook and are current as of 3 p.m. ET on Monday, March 14.
- Moneyline: Texas Southern (-165) @ Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (+140)
- Spread: Texas Southern -3.5 (-110) @ Texas A&M-Corpus Christi +3.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: Over 136.5 (-110) / Under 136.5 (-110)
- Implied Score: Texas Southern 70, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 66.5
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Texas Southern vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Prediction
Texas Southern does have a fairly respectable defense, but both of these teams lack any sort of offense. Each squad ranks in the high-200s in adjusted offensive efficiency, though Texas Southern does have the slight edge in that category.
Given that Texas Southern is better on both ends of the floor, we’re picking them to advance.
Texas Southern vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Score Pick
Texas Southern 73, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 66
Texas Southern is the better team in this fight, without a doubt. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is metrically one of the worst teams to find themselves in the NCAA tournament in years.
- Print your 2022 March Madness bracket.
Texas Southern is not an amazing club by any stretch of the imagination, but they should easily outduel their Texas counterparts.
Texas Southern vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Best Bets
Texas Southern Moneyline (-165) at BetMGM
Wager: 0.75 Units
I do not normally like to take moneylines with this amount of juice attached, but I will make an exception for Texas Southern in this spot. Stay small, but a healthy 3/4-unit wager should be more than enough to extract value.
I do not expect Texas Southern to blow Texas A&M-CC out of the water, but I still expect a healthy margin of victory.
OVER 136.5 Total Points (-110) at BetMGM
Wager: 0.5 Units
I do not have this Over hitting by much, but I see some value in it more than the other side. While Texas Southern might have a decent defense in the context of teams of their caliber, their defense is still mediocre as a whole.
Texas A&M-CC has proven that they can put points on the board against the awful defenses in their conference, and this game against Texas Southern is not that much different. Go small on the Over in this First Four matchup.
