NCAA Tournament Picks: Michigan vs Texas Southern 3/20/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Texas Southern Tigers and Michigan Wolverines meet Saturday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Mackey Arena.

The Texas Southern Tigers look for another victory after beating Mount St. Mary’s in the First Four. The Texas Southern Tigers are averaging 74 points on 44.5 percent shooting and allowing 70.2 points on 40.5 percent shooting. Michael Weathers is averaging 16.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while John Walker III is averaging 12 points and 5.4 rebounds. Joirdon Karl Nicholas is the third double-digit scorer and Galen Alexander is grabbing 4.8 rebounds. The Texas Southern Tigers are shooting 28.4 percent from beyond the arc and 69.6 percent from the free throw line. The Texas Southern Tigers are allowing 32.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 36.4 rebounds per game.

The Michigan Wolverines enter this tournament winning 10 of their last 14 games. The Michigan Wolverines are averaging 76.5 points on 48.8 percent shooting and allowing 65.2 points on 39 percent shooting. Hunter Dickinson is averaging 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds while Isaiah Livers is averaging 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds. Franz Wagner is the third double-digit scorer and Mike Smith is grabbing 2.6 rebounds. The Michigan Wolverines are shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. The Michigan Wolverines are allowing 32.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35.5 rebounds per game.

The Tigers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Wolverines are 15-6 ATS in their last 21 games as a favorite and 16-6 ATS in their last 22 games overall. The over is 10-2-1 in Tigers last 13 Saturday games. The under is 6-1 in Wolverines last 7 overall.

The Michigan Wolverines are head and shoulders the more talented team here and should win comfortably. The Texas Southern Tigers don’t have the top level talent to compete with Michigan, but they are an above-average defensive team and hung around with Saint Mary’s and Washington State while beating Wyoming. Texas Southern isn’t your typical 16-seed and can put up a fight. Give me the points.