Battle of the Aggies – Utah State vs. Texas A&M

Just so you know, an “Aggie” is someone who studies and practices agricultural. It’s really that simple. Now you can’t say you haven’t learned something! Another thing you should put in your knowledge bucket is that Texas A&M is going to be a surly bet when it comes to March Madness bracket betting. They’ve been darlings against the spread, but Utah State is a cagey underdog bet that could cause some upheaval.

Texas A&M has gone 10-2 ATS in their past 12 games and went all the way to the Big 12 finals where they lost to Kansas. Don’t sleep on this team. They may be a fifth-seed, but they also finished tied for second in the Big 12 standings. Even more interesting is that the Aggies have been able to close the spread by an average of +5.38 points per game in their last 6 outings.

This line may be very tight, but it’s certainly very attractive. The Texas A&M Aggies have an average point differential of +6.9 points per game this season and they’re used to playing in big pressure games. Any product of the Big 12 is a tested traveler on the college basketball betting spread, but that could also mean that they’re weary from a long and arduous season.

#12 Utah State Aggies (27-7) vs. #5 Texas A&M Aggies (23-9)

Friday, March 19 th --- Spokane Arena --- 4:45pm EST

NCAAB Betting Line: Texas A&M -3.5 (128)

Utah State is a handy 4-1 ATS in their past 5 games and had a 17-game winning streak snapped when they played New Mexico State just last week. During that gigantic streak, they went 14-3 ATS so it’s not like the Utah State Aggies aren’t used to clearing the spread themselves.

What they’re not used to is playing a team like Texas A&M, which is as disciplined and hard nosed as they come. Utah State is sits comfortably as a favorite when they get to smother nobodies, and they’ve managed to go 3-1-1 ATS in five games as underdogs, but I like the Aggies too much in tournament play.

The metrics for this particular game, plus Texas A&M’s superior talent will defuse any chance of an upset in this game. I’ve got the Aggies pushing the score in the OVER because Utah State is a dangerous scoring team. That won’t stop the favored Aggies from pulling away from the underdog Aggies.