The final two spots in the NCAA Tournament’s Field of 64 will be locked down Wednesday in the First Four as No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson faces No. 16 Texas Southern in the first game and No. 11 Nevada takes on No. 11 Arizona State in the nightcap, both from Dayton. Let’s break them down.

2023 March Madness First Four Wednesday Game Information

Pitt's bench is bringing the ENERGY #MarchMadness @Pitt_MBB pic.twitter.com/N44P7AB9v4

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 15, 2023

READ MORE: 2023 March Madness First Four Tuesday Betting Preview

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 16 Texas Southern

• When: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 6:40 PM ET
• Where: UD Arena, Dayton, OH
• TV: truTV
• Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Fairleigh Dickinson) // 103.3 The G.O.A.T (Texas Southern)
• Live Stream: March Madness Live
• College Basketball Betting Odds: Fairleigh Dickinson (-2) // Texas Southern (+2)

Tips at 6:40 PM ET on truTV. FDU didn’t win the NEC regular-season title or the conference tournament. Merrimack won both, but it is transitioning to Division I and thus ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. Because FDU reached the conference title game opposite Merrimack, it got the automatic bid despite losing by a point.

The Knights, winners of 19 games this regular season, appear in their third NCAA tournament in eight years, with 2023 being the seventh trip to the Big Dance. FDU has gone to the NCAA tournament in 1985, 1988, 1998, 2005, 2016, 2019 and now 2023. FDU’s last trip to Ohio resulted in the program’s first-ever win in March Madness, as the Burgundy and Blue bested Prairie View A&M in 2019, 82-76.

FDU ranked 361st defensively this season, third worst in Division I. A huge part of the problem was a lack of functional size. The Knights are among the smallest teams in the country, starting two players under 5-foot-9 and no one over 6-6. They have a good backcourt of fifth-year guards Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton. Roberts was named to the First Team All-NEC and Singleton to the Second Team.

Roberts (16.7 PPG) & Co. had the most efficient offense in NEC play this season. But the Knights also finished eighth in defensive efficiency in league play (their NEC opponents shot 54% from inside the arc against them, and 39% from outside).

Texas Southern spent the first month of 2022-23 on a treacherous buy-game tour. Lopsided matchups against Texas Tech, Auburn, Houston and Kansas defined its non-conference season, along with a home win over Arizona State. Things didn’t get better in league play. Johnny Jones’ squad finished 11-20 overall and 7-11 in the SWAC entering the conference tournament.

But TSU won the SWAC Tournament after upsetting Grambling in the final. Davon Barnes averaged 17.3 PPG and connected on 68% of his shots inside the arc across the three SWAC tournament victories. It’s the third straight year in the First Four for TSU. The Tigers shoot fewer 3s than just about any team in the field, and when they do launch one, it goes in just 29% of the time.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Texas Southern

No. 11 Nevada vs. No. 11 Arizona State

• When: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 9:10 PM ET
• Where: UD Arena, Dayton, OH
• TV: truTV
• Radio: 91.5 The Rebel HD2 (Nevada) // KMVP 98.7FM (Arizona State)
• Live Stream: March Madness Live
• College Basketball Betting Odds: Nevada (+2) // Arizona State (-2)

Tips at 9:10 PM ET on truTV. The selection marks Nevada’s 10th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and they enter Wednesday’s contest with a record of 6-9 across their previous nine appearances.

The Pack’s selection also signifies Coach Steve Alford’s 12th career appearance in the tournament. He has now tied the record for most NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at different schools, as he has taken five different teams to the tournament throughout his career (Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA, and Nevada). Alford owns an all-time record of 11-11 in the NCAA Tournament, and his teams have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen on four separate occasions (1999, 2014, 2015, 2017).

The Wolf Pack are led by Jarod Lucas. He has reached double figures in scoring in 28 of 32 games this season, including scoring 20+ points in 10 contests this year. Over Nevada’s past three games, Lucas has been exceptional, averaging 25.0 points per game on 53.7 percent shooting from the field and 86.2 percent at the free throw line.

Nevada is third in the Mountain West in opponent field goal percentage (41.9%), fourth in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (32.3%), fourth in defensive rebounding (26.1 per game), fourth in turnovers forced (406), and fifth in steals per game (6.1 SPG). Offensively, Nevada has been incredibly efficient this season, as they rank first in the conference and 19th in the country in the least number of turnovers this season (319).

ASU has made the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history and third under Coach Bobby Hurley. It is the second-most tournament appearances for a Sun Devil Head Coach. The team’s 22 wins this year are tied for its most wins in the Hurley era, including 12 wins away from home with seven true road wins. Hurley’s team has been one of the best teams in the nation at neutral sites, going 5-1 so far in 2022-23. ASU’s lone loss came at the Pac-12 Tournament to eventual tournament champion No. 8 Arizona (No. 2 seed in South).

Sun Devils starters Desmond Cambridge Jr. and Warren Washington will face Nevada after having played a combined 104 games and 101 combined starts with the Wolf Pack previously. Both are transfers to ASU.

The Sun Devils rank 15th in the nation and fifth among NCAA Tournament teams holding opponents to just 39.8% shooting from the field. ASU is 9-0 this season when giving up less than 60 points and have held opponents to 40% or less from the field 18 games this season. ASU is 10-0 when opponents shoot under 36%.

Nevada and Arizona State have faced off four times, with the series tied at 2-2. They haven’t played since December 2018.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Arizona State

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