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Thursday’s First Four Previews

The 2021 NCAA Tournament is finally here!

Check below for a breakdown of today’s games:

Texas Southern/Mount St. Mary’s
Johnny Jones is back in the NCAA Tournament with Texas Southern and has a go-to scorer in former Oklahoma State guard Michael Weathers, who is averaging 18.7 points during the postseason. Meanwhile, Mount St. Mary’s is massive up front for a mid-major team. Three of the Mountaineers’ top four scorers are 6-8 or taller. The slower the pace, the better it is for Mount St. Mary’s.

Drake/Wichita State
Darian DeVries has done yeoman’s work this season at Drake, but injuries have recently lowered this team’s ceiling. The return of ShanQuan Hemphill — the Bulldogs’ top scorer and rebounder — from a foot injury should provide a massive boost. Hemphill hasn’t played since Feb. 10th. Wichita State has an unsung star in 6-2 sophomore Tyson Etienne (17 points), who could wind up being the difference in this game. 

Appalachian State/Norfolk State
The classic First Four matchup between 16 seeds features two guys in Dustin Kerns and Robert Jones that have done tremendous jobs at their respective posts. Kerns worked for Virginia Tech’s Mike Young at Wofford before becoming the head coach at Presbyterian and now Appalachian State. The winner will play Gonzaga on Saturday.

UCLA/Michigan State
The most highly anticipated First Four game in the history of the NCAA Tournament? It certainly feels that way. UCLA has had issues closing out games recently while Michigan State has beaten two number one seeds — Illinois and Michigan — along with a number two seed in Ohio State in the past few weeks. Expect this one to go down to the wire.