Picks, prediction for Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-CC in First Four of 2023 NCAA Tournament

The First Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament gets underway with a pair of No. 16 seeds in Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday, March 14. Tip-off from Dayton, OH is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET while airing on TruTV.

No. 16 Southeast Missouri State vs. No. 16 Texas A&M-CC picks

Spread: A&M-Corpus Christi -4
Over/Under: 155
Moneyline: A&M-CC -175, SEMO +150

Texas A&M-CC (23-10, 14-4 Southland) won the Southland Tournament as well as finishing first in the conference for the regular season. The Islanders outlasted Northwestern State in the Southland Final by a score of 75-71. Jalen Jackson led Texas A&M-CC with 17 points and Owen Dease posted 16 points with seven boards.

Southeast Missouri State (19-16, 10-8 Ohio Valley) finished fifth in its conference for the regular season, but the Redhawks rattled off four straight wins in the Ohio Valley Tournament to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. SEMO beat Tennessee Tech 89-82 in overtime of the Ohio Valley Final. Chris Harris led the way with 26 points while Phillip Russell had 21.

Both teams like to play fast, as Southeast Missouri State ranks seventh in adjusted tempo and Texas-A&M Corpus Christi ranks 80th. These squads are used to playing high-scoring games, and they’ll feed into that outcome on Tuesday. Texas A&M-CC was 19-12 to the over this year. SEMO went 21-12 to the over.

The Pick: Over 155