Alcorn State vs Texas Southern 3/12/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Texas Southern Tigers & Alcorn State Braves will square off at Bartow Arena this Saturday night in the Championship of the SWAC Tournament.

The 2-seed Texas Southern Tigers improved to 16-12 on the season after defeating the 6-seed Grambling Tigers, 73-54, yesterday afternoon. Texas Southern was outstanding defensively against Grambling and easily pulled away for the victory early I the 2^nd half after taking a 53-29 lead with 13:46 left in regulation. Texas Southern shot 44.4% from the field & 37.0% from beyond the arc while holding Grambling to just 32.8% shooting from the field & 15.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Tigers was PJ Henry who had 18 points & 7 rebounds.

Coming into their game against Grambling, Texas Southern was averaging 68.5 ppg on 43.2% shooting from the field. The Tigers were averaging 5.7 three-pointers per game on 31.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Texas Southern has been led by John Walker III (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 apg), Joirdon Karl Nicholas (9.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Bryson Etienne (8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.4 apg), PJ Henry (7.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg), & Brison Gresham (7.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.1 bpg).

Defensively, prior their game against Grambling, Texas Southern was allowing their opponents to average 66.0 ppg on 40.3% shooting from the field. The Tigers had a rebound margin of 4.9 and a turnover margin of -2.8.

The 1-seed Alcorn State Braves improved to 17-15 on the season after defeating the 5-seed Alabama A&M Bulldogs, 69-64, last night. Alcorn State trailed by a 37-30 margin at halftime, however, the Braves were outstanding on both ends of the court in the 2^nd half and was able to pull away for the victory after taking a 66-59 lead with 1:46 left in regulation. Alcorn State shot 48.2% from the field & 20.0% from beyond the arc while holding Alabama A&M to 34.4% shooting from the field & 35.3% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Braves was Justin Thomas who had 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, & 2 blocks.

Coming into their game against Alabama A&M, Alcorn State was averaging 66.7 ppg on 41.5% shooting from the field. The Bulldogs were averaging 5.5 three-pointers per game on 31.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Alcorn State has been led by Justin Thomas (10.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.0 spg), Keondre Montgomery (9.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Darrious Agnew (9.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Dominic Brewton (8.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 spg), & Lenell Henry (8.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg).

Defensviely, prior their game against Alabama A&M, Alcorn State is allowing their opponents to average 70.7 ppg on 44.8% shooting from the field. The Braves had a rebound margin of 2.0 and a turnover margin of -0.9.

The Tigers are 10-1-2 ATS in their last 13 neutral site games & 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record. The Braves are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record, however, are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games.

Alcorn State defeated Texas Southern in both of their regular season matchups as the Braves defeated the Tigers by a 73-72 margin at home in mid-January and by a 75-72 margin on the road in late February.

Alcorn State finished conference play winning 8 of their last 9 games to earn the top-seed in the SWAC Tournament, however, this is still a team that hasn’t been great statistically on either end of the court this season as the Braves come into this game ranked just 284^th in scoring offense, 298^th in FG%, 216^th in scoring defense, & 262^nd in defensive FG%. Texas Southern has been led by their defense which ranks 83^rd in scoring defense & 34^th in defensive FG%, however, the Tigers have struggled a bit on the offensive end as they come into this game ranked just 239^th in scoring offense. Alcorn State was able to pick up two wins against Texas Southern during the regular season, however, I still think that Texas Southern is the better team and as I think their defense will be able to give an Alcorn State team that is not used to this type of pressure some trouble, I’m taking Texas Southern to cover this small spread. Good Luck!