Texas Southern and Howard NCAA Tournament Previews
The 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket is set with Texas Southern and Howard University representing HBCUs in the big dance.
The Tigers made an unprecedented run in the SWAC Tournament as the lowest seed, defeating the regular season co-champions in Alcorn State and Grambling State en route to winning its third consecutive tournament title.
On the MEAC side, the Bison earned their first NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 1992. Kenny Blakeney's squad won the regular season and tournament championships and entered the big tournament with a 22-12 record.
Let's see how both teams stack up against their first opponent.
Texas Southern wins the 2023 SWAC Men's Basketball Championship over Grambling State. Credit: Wade Event Photography
NCAA First Four
Texas Southern vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson must play their way into the traditional field of 64, adding another element to the Wednesday afternoon matchup.
The most polarizing fact about the Knights is that they did not win their conference championship game. Still, since tournament champion Merrimack had just moved up from Division II, Merrimack was ineligible.
Aside from that, Fairleigh Dickinson runs a potent offense, leading the Northeastern Conference in points per game (77.8) and assists (14.97) while being second in field goal percentage (45.5%). They are firm believers in the extra pass and are quick to swing it around the perimeter, find cutters or kick it out for a 3-pointer.
The Knights also have three players in the NEC's Top 10 in scoring, led by Demetre Roberts' 16.7 points per game, good enough for third in the league and an All-NEC First Team Selection.
Their three-point percentage is in the middle of the pack at 34.6%, but the Knights' 275 made 3-pointers lead the NEC, and it also helps when the team grabs 11.71 offensive rebounds per game.
Texas Southern's offense is respectable in its own right, scoring 69.4 points per game (3rd in the SWAC). But Johnny Jones' squad needs help to score from the perimeter, sitting last in 3-point percentage. The Tigers make up for this with their rebounding, which paces the SWAC at 37.7 boards per game. Much of that concerns Joirdon Karl Nicholas, who averages a conference-high 8.9 rebounds and is an All-SWAC Second-Team Selection.
It's also worth noting that the Tigers are third in opponent field goal percentage (42.6% percent) and grabbed almost 900 rebounds this season.
The strengths and weaknesses of each time balance out in many ways, but there is one area that could be a difference maker: the size disparity.
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the players that made the most starts for each team:
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Texas Southern |
|---|---|
Demetre Roberts : 5-8 | John Walker III: 6-9 |
Grant Singleton: 5-9 | Davon Barnes: 6-5 |
Ansley Almonor: 6-6 | Joirdon Karl Nicholas: 6-9 |
Sébastien Lamaute: 6-1 | PJ Henry: 5-10 |
Sean Moore: 6-4 | Zytarious Mortle: 6-2 |
It's not often that an HBCU has the size advantage in the frontcourt, and obviously Fairleigh Dickinson has done well for itself despite the lack of size. Still, going against a Texas Southern team that can rebound effectively and finish inside, along with their length, could prove to be a tough problem to solve for the Knights.
The First Four game between Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson will be at 6:30 ET/ 5:30 CT in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday, March 15. The game will be broadcast on truTV.
Top-Seeded Howard Upends South Carolina State; Credit: Nick Sutton, MEAC
NCAA Men's Basketball Round of 64
Kansas vs. Howard
The Bisons don't have to worry about a Play-In game. Instead, they will face the Kansas Jayhawks, one of college basketball's blue bloods.
Bill Self's squad finished No. 4 in the final AP Poll of the season and has future NBA Lottery pick Gradey Dick. But the Kansas freshman isn't the team's leading scorer; that honor goes to Jalen Wilson, who led the Big 12 with 20.1 points per game.
Howard has its crop of talent as well. At least one player was named to every All-MEAC Team from Howard, and freshman Shy Odom was named Rookie of the Year while Blakeney was named Coach of the Year.
While Kansas does have a generally bigger team in terms of size, Howard does have 6-foot-10 Steve Settle, who was seventh in the MEAC in blocks, and 6-foot-9 Jordan Wood, who shoots 37.9% on 3-pointers.
The talent gap is wide between the two teams, and with the tournament site only being 3 1/2 hours away from Kansas' campus, the crowd will likely be in the Jayhawks' favor.
But when it comes to the tournament, Howard's strength can be a great equalizer: its perimeter shooting.
The Bison shot 37.7% from deep and made 272 3-pointers, which led the SWAC and is more makes on a higher percentage than Kansas (237 makes on 34.4% 3-point shooting).
Elijah Hawkins (47.3%) and Marcus Dockery (44.3%) are true marksmen; Jelani Williams and Bryce Harris are threats at 34.2%; it's doubtful Settle takes deep shots, but even he made just under 30%. Add in Wood, and that's a lot of shooting for Bill Self's defense to handle.
The opening round match between Howard and Kansas will be at 12:50 PM CT in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, March 16. TBS will broadcast the contest.