The Texas Southern Tigers and the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions meet Monday in college basketball action from HO Clemmons Arena. Texas Southern sits at 11-14 overall following a win over MS Valley State on Saturday. As for AR-Pine Bluff, they’re 12-15 so far and coming off a victory versus Prairie View. Let’s get into our Texas Southern vs. AR-Pine Bluff prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Texas Southern Tigers
The Tigers didn’t get off to a great start this year, going just 5-12 over their first 17 outings. Texas Southern is 6-2 in their last eight games however, taking out Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Prairie View, Florida A&M, Southern and MS Valley State in that time.
In the MS Valley State matchup back on Saturday, the Tigers came out of the break with a 34-22 edge. Texas Southern kept it going with a 39-30 run the rest of the way and won easily 73-52. Leading team scorer PJ Henry finished with 16 points and three steals in the victory.
AR-Pine Bluff Golden Lions
Over on the AR-Pine Bluff side, they were close to a .500 record in early February with a 10-11 run. Since then the Golden Lions are just 2-4 however, taking losses to Prairie View A&M, Alcorn State, Jackson State and Alabama A&M with wins over Alabama State and Prairie View otherwise.
Matched up against Prairie View on Saturday, the Golden Lions went into the second half with a 12-point edge. AR-Pine Bluff posted a 33-32 stretch in the second half and powered out the win 72-59. Ismael Plet was the leading team scorer on a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards.
ANDREW’S FREE TEXAS SOUTHERN VS AR-PINE BLUFF PREDICTION
I’ll stick with Texas Southern. You could probably argue it either way, though. The Tigers didn’t have any issues with a winless MS Valley State team on Saturday, notching 49.1 percent shooting with 12 steals and 20 points off 20 Delta Devils turnovers. Texas Southern has now scored 68 or more points in five of the last six outings.
The Tigers took a loss the last time these teams met up, falling 70-67 at home back on January 13. Texas Southern shot a tepid 39.1 percent from the floor in that one and hit just two of their 22 attempts from outside (9.1 percent). This rematch is going to require a much better offensive effort, but I think the Tigers are up for it.