Texas Southern vs Xavier 3/16/18 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The 16th seeded Texas Southern Tigers (16-19) will play the top-seeded Xavier Musketeers (28-5) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament West Regional on Friday March 16. Texas Southern won its sixth straight game on Wednesday when it beat North Carolina Central in its First Four outing. The Tigers won easily 64-46. Demontrae Jefferson led the Tigers with 25 points and eight rebounds.

Xavier has won four of its last five games played, but lost its most recent last Friday falling to Providence in the Big East semifinals. The Musketeers fell 75-72 in overtime after squandering a 17-point lead in the second half. Nonetheless, Xavier is the top seed in the West. Demontrae Jefferson leads Texas Southern in scoring and assists averaging 23.4 points and 4.5 assists per game. The second leading scorer is Donte Clark averaging 18.6 points per game. The leading rebounder is Trayvon Reed with an average of 8.8 per game. As a team, Texas Southern is shooting 43.9% from the field and 36% from 3-point territory. During the regular season, Texas Southern scored an average of 77.3 points per game, while allowing an average of 78.8.

Trevon Bluiett leads the Musketeers in scoring and rebounding averaging 19.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Two other Xavier players J.P Macura (12.4 ppg) and Kerem Kanter (10.1 ppg) are averaging double figures in scoring. As a team, the Musketeers are shooting 49.8% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point territory. During the regular season, Xavier scored an average of 84.3 points per game, while allowing an average of 74.5.