The NCAA Tournament is set to begin on Thursday, but there are still a few games left to be played in the play-in matchups. These games are usually quite competitive and provide a great opportunity for betting on lesser-known teams. Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson are set to face each other tonight, both of which fall under this category of lesser-known teams. Let’s get into the college basketball best bet for the penultimate NCAA First Four game.
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College Basketball Best Bets: Fairleigh Dickinson-Texas Southern
Texas Southern enters this matchup as a 2.5-point favorite. Despite their 14-20 record, the Tigers appear to have caught fire at just the right time and come into the game with momentum. Although their non-conference schedule was filled with tough opponents such as Auburn, Kansas and Arizona State, they struggled to secure wins. However, defensively, they are a solid team. While their offense is a bit of a problem, averaging less than 70 points per game, they should still be able to exploit several areas of weakness in Fairleigh Dickinson.
On the other hand, Fairleigh Dickinson managed to make it this far because of a loophole that prevented Merrimack from receiving an auto bid despite winning the tournament. Although Fairleigh Dickinson has a better record than Texas Southern, its numbers do not look particularly impressive upon closer examination. In fact, the Knights are one of the worst defensive teams in the country and rank outside the top 350 in opponent shooting percentage. Even with Texas Southern’s lack of offense, Fairleigh Dickinson will be unable to slow it down since the Knights are the weakest team in the tournament.
Ben’s College Basketball Best Bet: Texas Southern -2.5 (-110, DraftKings)
Editor Note: Looking for other college basketball best bets for the NCAA Tournament? We have you covered here!
