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The 16-seed Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (19-16) face the 16-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (23-10) Tuesday in a First Four game in the NCAA Tournament. Tip from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET (truTV). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Southeast Missouri State closed out the regular season with a losing record (15-16). However, the Redhawks caught fire in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Tournament, winning and covering 4 straight games to stun the rest of the conference and secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s SEMO State’s 2nd-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. It played LSU back in 2000 as a 13-seed, suffering a heartbreaking 64-61 loss in the 1st round in Salt Lake City.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi posted a 21-10 regular season record and went 2-0 in the conference tournament as claimed both the regular season and tournament titles in the Southland Conference. The Islanders won 12 of their last 13 games, going 10-3 against the spread during the impressive span.
The Islanders will be making their 3rd-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, and their 2nd consecutive appearance in the First Four. Texas A&M-CC lost to Texas Southern last season by a 76-67 score. It’s 0-2 in the Big Dance as it also suffered a 1st round loss in 2007, so one of these teams is going to get their 1st-ever NCAA Tournament win.
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Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 8:13 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Southeast Missouri State +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Southeast Missouri State +3.5 (-102) | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi -3.5 (-118)
- Over/Under (O/U): 153.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi picks and predictions
Prediction
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 83, Southeast Missouri State 74
Moneyline
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (-190) is a little too expensive, costing nearly 2 times your potential return. My personal limit for a standalone moneyline play is -180.
PASS.
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Against the spread
The third time is a charm for TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI -3.5 (-118). The Islanders will finally get its 1st-ever NCAA Tournament win and advance to the Field of 64.
The Islanders did a great job on offense this season, racking up 80.4 points per game (20th) and hitting triples at a 36.8% clip (47th). Even more impressively, they rank 5th in the nation in free-throw shooting (79.02)%. That will serve them well in a potentially close game down the stretch.
Southeast Missouri State finished the regular season and caught fire in the conference tournament. However, it was an erratic team most of the season and one that was horrific on defense. The Redhawks are 317th nationally with 76.0 points allowed per game, and the Islanders will look to exploit that.
Also, unlike Texas A&M-CC, SEMO is a terrible free-throw shooting team at 71.5% (184th) and that will be the difference here.
Over/Under
OVER 153.5 (-108) is a strong play in this First Four clash.
Southeast Missouri State cashed the Over in 3 of its 4 games in the OVC Tournament, and the total has gone Over in 6 of its last 7 overall.
The Over is on a 4-1 run for the Islanders, too, with Texas A&M-CC going for 75 or more points in 7 straight games and 13 of the last 14.
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