DAYTON, Ohio (Ticker) -- No. 16 Texas Southern seeks its first NCAA Tournament victory in its fourth appearance Tuesday night when it faces North Carolina-Asheville in the play-in game.

Texas Southern (18-12) is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995 after capturing the Southwestern Athletic Conference title. The Tigers are 0-3 in their previous three trips.

Allan Lovett scored 23 points Saturday as Texas Southern captured the title with a 77-68 victory over defending champion Alcorn State. Lovett was named tournament MVP and Ra'Kim Hollis added 18 points and nine assists.

Lovett will bring some extra incentive into this game. He began his college career with the Bulldogs and averaged 7.8 points as a freshman in the 2000-01 season before transferring to Texas Southern.

The Tigers have lost to Arkansas, Duke and Georgetown in their previous three NCAA appearances.

North Carolina-Asheville (14-16) became the only team in the field with a losing record after capturing the Big South championship with an 85-71 victory over Radford. Andre Smith led the Bulldogs with 18 points and Ben McGonagil added 14 and 10 rebounds.

Smith averages 15.4 points and McGonagil adds 14.2 points on 61 percent shooting for NC-Asheville, which is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Bulldogs are coached by Eddie Biedenbach, a former assistant at North Carolina State and Georgia. He also served as head coach at Davidson.

The schools have never met. The winner will face top-seeded Texas on Friday in a first-round game at Birmingham, Alabama.