No. 16 seed Texas Southern (16-8) vs. No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s (12-10)
NCAA Tournament First Four, Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana; Thursday, 4:10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Texas Southern is taking on Mount St. Mary’s in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. Mount St. Mary’s earned a 73-68 win over Bryant on March 9, while Texas Southern won easily 80-61 against Prairie View on Saturday.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Mount St. Mary’s’ Damian Chong Qui has averaged 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists while Nana Opoku has put up 10.3 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. For the Tigers, Michael Weathers has averaged 16.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals while Joirdon Karl Nicholas has put up 11.3 points and seven rebounds.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Chong Qui has made or assisted on 49 percent of all Mount St. Mary’s field goals over the last three games. Chong Qui has accounted for 17 field goals and 18 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: Mount St. Mary’s is 0-7 this year when it scores 61 points or fewer and 12-3 when it scores at least 62.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Mountaineers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Tigers. Mount St. Mary’s has an assist on 33 of 71 field goals (46.5 percent) across its previous three outings while Texas Southern has assists on 39 of 87 field goals (44.8 percent) during its past three games.
PACE OF PLAY: The upbeat Texas Southern offense has averaged 73.8 possessions per game, the 25th-most in Division I. Mount St. Mary’s has not been as uptempo as the Tigers and is averaging only 63.5 possessions per game (ranked 343rd, nationally).
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