College Basketball Picks Today: Texas, Xavier Can Validate Their “First Four” Selection

Bracketologists and this year’s committee apparently didn’t see eye to eye, as the Texas Longhorns were listed as one of the “First Four Out” on many experts’ brackets.

However, the committee decided to include the Longhorns, placing them in a “First Four” matchup against the Xavier Musketeers.

It will be an opportunity for both of these teams to validate their inclusion to the 2025 NCAA Tournament!

Continue reading below for our best college basketball pick for this enthralling Wednesday night matchup between Xavier and Texas!

The following odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Place a $5 wager at FanDuel Sportsbook and receive $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins.

Xavier @ Texas Odds

• Date: Wednesday, March 19

• Time: 9:10 pm EST

• Moneyline: Xavier -152 | Texas +126

• Spread: Xavier -2.5 (-120) | Texas +2.5 (-102)

• Total: Over 149.5 (-105) | Under 149.5 (-115)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Texas +2.5 (-102) at FanDuel

Say what you want about Texas, but it has an abundance of individual offensive talent.

The Longhorns have a handful of players who have been on winning teams during previous “stops” in their career, but they have not yet fully committed to playing together on both ends of the floor.

However, we did see a glimpse of what this team could be in the SEC Tournament, rattling off wins over Vanderbilt and Texas A&M before dropping a hard-fought game against Tennessee.

Perhaps, the Longhorns’ play in the conference tournament was a “dead cat bounce” of sorts, but I believe they have figured some things out offensively.

And with a talented scorer like Tre Johnson, Texas has a player it can lean on late in the game to find a bucket.

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Xavier Prediction

There is little doubt that the Big East has had a “down year” overall. 

While St. John’s has surged, dominating the Big East with a 18-2 record, the rest of the conference was not great.

In fact, the Red Storm were the only team that was ranked in the final AP Poll before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

Xavier enters the “Big Dance” with a 1-9 record in Quad 1 games and also has two Quad 2 losses.

The Musketeers barely crack the top 50 nationally on the defensive end and are outside the top 50 offensively despite shooting the sixth-highest percentage from 3-point range in the country.

Xavier has a talented duo between power forward Zach Freemantle and sharpshooting guard Ryan Conwell, who combine to score just shy of 35 points per game. 

Simply put, the Musketeers will only go as far as those two take them.

Texas Prediction

It’s difficult to justify the Longhorns’ inclusion in the NCAA Tournament after their 2024-25 campaign, but that doesn’t change the fact that the committee deemed them worthy. 

The Longhorns finished with the third-worst record (6-12) in the SEC, a conference that set the record for the most teams to receive bids to the “Big Dance” this season.

Texas ranks 44th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin and boasts a top-40 offense and a top-60 defense nationally.

However, the Longhorns significantly underperformed relative to their expectations; they were ranked 19th in the preseason AP Poll.

Still, Texas should not be taken lightly, as it won three of its final four games, including victories over Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State.

While Texas has underachieved as a team, it has a lot of players who have been key features on other winning teams, including Kadin Shedrick, Tramon Mark, Arthur Kaluma, Jordan Pope, Julian Larry, and Jayson Kent.

Add in future first-round pick Tre Johnson, who has averaged nearly 20 points per game, and it is safe to say that talent is not the issue. 

If the Longhorns can band together for one last run, they could be a tough out.