The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights are underdogs against the 14-20 Texas Southern Tigers in Wednesday night's March Madness First Four game. Here are our best Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern college basketball picks based on the top NCAAB odds.
The Tigers earned the last spot in the SWAC Tournament, and they shocked the conference by defeating the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on their way to an NCAA Tournament berth. Prior to the conference tournament, the Tigers were nine games below .500.
It was a different story for the Knights. They entered the NEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, and they advanced to the championship game where they lost to the Merrimack Warriors 67-66. Because the Warriors just transitioned from Division II, the Knights earned the NCAA Tournament berth despite not winning their conference tournament.
Here is our best Fairleig h Dickinson vs. Texas Southern pick (odds via BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern odds
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern prediction
When it comes to the First Four games between 16 seeds, it's really hard to know what to expect once the game tips off. That's the same situation on Wednesday night. Neither of these teams has done enough to warrant confident support with our March Madness picks, but the Knights have certainly done more than the Tigers.
The Tigers were the eighth-best team in their league this season, and despite pulling off a miraculous run in their conference tournament, it's shocking to see them favored in this game. Even more shocking is how much support they are receiving. As of Monday evening, 70% of wagers are backing Texas Southern to cover.
Both of these teams took their licks all season, but the Knights were still able to finish in the top 50 in the country in points per game. The competition they were up against obviously wasn't the cream of the crop, but they were significantly better than the Tigers who scored just 67.9 points per game to rank 250th nationally.
Both teams were really bad defensively with the Tigers finishing 246th in points allowed per game and the Knights finishing 311th. In a game where it is really hard to know what's going to happen, it's safest to take the solid offensive team against a bad defense, rather than a so-so offensive team against a bad defense
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Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +2 | +2.5 | +2.5 | +2 | +2 |
| -110 | -120 | -115 | -110 | -110 |
BetMGM and FanDuel are giving Fairleigh Dickinson bettors the best line with the hook at 2.5. Choosing between those two sports betting sites, we'll go with BetMGM for the reduced juice at -115.
Texas Southern backers have their choice between DraftKings, Caesars, and PointsBet with a flat -2 line and -110 odds.
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern odds analysis
A team six games below .500 is favored by 2.5 points over a team well above .500. It's truly shocking, especially considering 70% of wagers are backing the Tigers. However, what is most interesting, is that despite the Tigers seeing all the love, the spread has moved in favor of the Knights. Could this be because the public is going against what oddsmakers expected? Keep an eye on this line in the build-up to tipoff.
The total opened at 145 and despite 59% of bettors backing the Under, the line has actually gone up at FanDuel and Caesars. With how bad these two defenses are, it is hard to confidently take the Under, but this is such a high number, that taking the Over feels like a bold play. It's unlikely we see this drop below 144.5 or go above 146.
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern game info
- Date: Wednesday, March 15, 6:40 p.m. ET
- TV: truTV
- Location: UD Arena, Dayton, OH
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Texas Southern pick made 03/13/2023 at 5:21 p.m. ET.
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