SEMO vs Texas A&M-CC Prediction & Game Preview- March 14, 2023 | March Madness 2023

The March Madness appetizer has arrived with the First Four opening matchups set to tip things off. The first matchup of the tournament will be Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi which will start at 6:40 EST on TRU TV.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won the Southland Conference tournament to punch its ticket to March Madness. The Islanders went 23-10, including 14-4 in the SLC.

Southeast Missouri State (19-16) went 10-8 to finish fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference in the regular season. However, the Redhawks ripped off seven straight wins to wrap up the year, winning the conference tournament and extending their season.

The two teams will face off for a chance to match up against No. 1 overall seed Alabama (29-5) in the first round on Thursday.

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

Both teams like to play fast, so this is likely to be an up-tempo game. Southeast Missouri State ranks seventh in the country in adjusted tempo while Texas A&M-CC is 80th. The over/under is listed at 155 for the matchup with the over cashing in 19 of the 31 games Texas A&M-CC played and 21 of the 33 games Southeast Missouri State has played.

Texas A&M-CC is considered a four-point favorite in the matchup, which will take place in Dayton, Ohio. They are led by senior guard Trevian Tennyson, who has averaged 15.7 points per game while shooting a team-best 41.2% on 3-pointers. Senior Isaac Mushila is also vital to the team's play and has averaged 14.4 ppg and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Southeast Missouri State will rely heavily on 5-foot-10 guard Phillip Russell, who leads the team with 18.2 ppg and 5.0 assists per game. Senior Chris Harris also adds 15.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg, while senior Israel Barnes is responsible for 10.3 ppg.

It will take a complete team effort for whichever team comes out on top of this run-and-gun matchup. The looming matchup against Alabama will likely mark the end of the road for either team in the round of 64, but they will have their moment to shine in this First Four matchup.

Expect these two small-conference teams to kick off the NCAA Tournament off in entertaining fashion with this game up for grabs.