The Fair Dickinson Knights take on the Texas Southern Tigers. Check out our March Madness odds series for our Fair Dickinson Texas Southern prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Fair Dickinson Texas Southern.

The NCAA Tournament is about to explode into full color on Thursday and Friday with the Round of 64, but the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, is providing plenty of March drama before the brackets begin to bust. The First Four regularly provides close games, and Tuesday's opening doubleheader was no exception. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi defeated Southeast Missouri State by four points in a game which was only a one-point contest in the final minutes. Then Pittsburgh defeated Mississippi State by one point in the bubble-team nightcap on Tuesday. We have a lot of close action to look forward to on Wednesday. You will see that the point spreads are small for both Wednesday games, which means very little separates the involved teams in these “play-in” games for the NCAA Tournament.

Fairleigh Dickinson and Texas Southern will compete for the right to face the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers in an East Region Round of 64 game on Friday.

Texas Southern is making its fifth appearance in the First Four, and its third appearance in as many seasons. The Tigers played in Dayton for the First Four in 2014, then in 2018. They played the First Four in 2021 (that one was played in Indiana due to the pandemic), 2022, and are now back for 2023. Texas Southern is 3-1 in the First Four and won its most recent games in 2021 and 2022.

Fairleigh Dickinson has played in the First Four on multiple occasions as well. The Knights were in Dayton in 2016 and 2019 and are now returning to Ohio for another 16-seed play-in game for the right to face a No. 1 seed. FDU is 1-1 in its two First Four games.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Fair Dickinson-Texas Southern March Madness odds.

March Madness Odds: Fair Dickinson-Texas Southern Odds

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights: +2.5 (-110)

Texas Southern Tigers: -2.5 (-110)

Over: 147.5 (-106)

Under: 147.5 (-114)

How To Watch Fair Dickinson vs Texas Southern

TV: TruTV

Stream: CBSSports.com, March Madness app, fuboTV

Time: 6:40 p.m. ET, 3:40 p.m. PT

*Watch Fair Dickinson vs Texas Southern LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*

Why Fairleigh Dickinson Could Cover the Spread

This is a team which is playing with house money. It knew entering its conference tournament championship game against Merrimack that it had already qualified for the NCAA Tournament, given that Merrimack was ineligible. Don't read too much into the fact that FDU lost to Merrimack. Only Merrimack really had something to play for.

The other thing to note is that Texas Southern is several games under .500, having been the No. 8 seed in its conference tournament. The Tigers did not have a good regular season. They merely had a good conference tournament. There's a big difference between those two realities.

Why Texas Southern Could Cover the Spread

This is a proven First Four team making its third straight appearance in Dayton. Familiarity with the environment and the pressure give Texas Southern a real advantage over Fairleigh Dickinson.

Final Fair Dickinson-Texas Southern Prediction & Pick

This is a game in which Texas Southern's good run of current form and its experience in the First Four should both prove to be decisive. Take the Tigers, who know how to win in Dayton and have made it a part of their story as a basketball program over the past few years.

Final Fair Dickinson-Texas Southern Prediction & Pick: Texas Southern -2.5