Today the Texas Southern Tigers will do battle with the Arizona Wildcats at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. The game has a start time of 2:10 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have the Wildcats listed as 23.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 134. 

Analysis: The Texas Southern come in having won the SWAC tournament, while also taking the regular season title in the SWAC as well. Overall the Tigers have gone 22-10 on the year and will be making their 2nd trip to the NCAA Tournament in a row and their 6th overall. Texas Southern has gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games, but just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a S.U. win. The Tigers have been a very average offensive team, as they come in ranked 156th in scoring (68.2 ppg), 118th in shooting (44.4%), 272nd in 3 point shooting (32.0%) and 276th in FT shooting (66.2%). Defensively the Tigers have been a bit below average this year, ranking 197th in points allowed (67.4 ppg), 234th in defensive FG% (44.0%) and 179th in 3 point defense (34.2%). 

The Arizona Wildcats have won 11 games in a row, which includes winning all 3 games in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cats are now 31-3 overall and just missed out on grabbing one of the four number 1 seeds in the Big Dance. Still they are a Number 2 and will be playing in their 32nd NCAA Tournament, which includes 4 trips to the Final 4 and 1 National Title. Arizona has gone 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following a S.U. win and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 NCAA Tournament games. The Wildcats have been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 22nd in scoring (76.4 ppg), 6th in shooting (48.9%), 98th in 3 point shooting (36.0%) and 144th in FT shooting (69.9%). Defensively the Wildcats have been very good this year, ranking 17th in points allowed (58.9 ppg), 28th in defensive FG% (39.2%) and 93rd in 3 point defense (32.5%). 

Pick:  Going with the Under here. The Tigers are not a good shooting team and I can't see that improving vs tyhis very Tough Arizona defense that is 28th in the nation in FG% defense. The Cats can score, but they will also take the foot off the gas once they get up big, and they will get up big. They know this is a long tournament and will need to conserve energy for the long haul. I look for a 75-52 final score here.  

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Handicapping Tips: NCAA Tournament Round 1
Steve Fezzik and Teddy Covers from Pregame.com give some insight and tips on handicapping the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.