The Jackson State Tigers and the Texas Southern Tigers meet Wednesday in SWAC Tournament college basketball action from Bartow Arena. Jackson State is 11-18 on the year. The Tigers beat MS Valley State in their last game. As for Texas Southern, they’re sitting at 15-12 and coming off a win over Prairie View A&M. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Jackson State skidded to a 4-16 start over their first 20 games, with just one instance of consecutive wins. The Tigers are 7-2 in their last nine though, taking wins over MS Valley State, AR-Pine Bluff, Florida A&M, BCU, Prairie View, AR-Pine Bluff and MS Valley State again.
On Saturday in the Delta Devils matchup, the Tigers were up by two points at halftime. Jackson State hit a 35-30 run the rest of the way in a 76-69 win. Tops in scoring was Jonas James with 16 points and four assists.
Over on the Texas Southern side, their year began on an 0-7 skid, but they’ve only lost consecutive games once since then. The Tigers are 4-1 in the last five games with wins over MS Valley State, AR-Pine Bluff, Jackson State and Prairie View.
Matched up against Prairie View in the Saturday game, the Tigers hit a 43-35 first-half run. Texas Southern had to hang on after a 35-42 second half but managed to win 78-77. AJ Lawson was the lead scorer on 16 points and three rebounds.
Texas Southern is 1-5 ATS in their last six after a straight-up win and 2-6 ATS in the last eight overall. Texas Southern is 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 neutral-site games.
Meanwhile, Jackson State is 4-9 ATS in their last 13 overall and the over is 4-0 in their last four neutral-site games. The under is 46-22 in Jackson State’s last 68 after a straight-up win.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Texas Southern. You could probably make a good case either way in this one, though. Both teams have been playing well lately. In any case, Jackson State won 61-58 at home the first time these teams met up this year, and Texas Southern won the rematch 81-66 at home on February 26. Texas Southern has hit 70 or more points in each of the last five games, and I think they’ll be able to put up a good total here as well. Should be a competitive game, but I think Texas Southern can pull it out.