Big 12 Predictions - #23 Texas A&M vs. #1 Kansas
by Tim Furious
Tournament style play and the regular season can seem like totally different worlds. Kansas found that out the hard way as they stumbled heavy in the first half of their game against Texas Tech. They’ll have to be at their very best to not only secure a top-seed in March madness betting, but also to earn a victory against Texas A&M.
The Aggies haven’t gone in to the night quietly. With a 10-1 ATS record in their past 11 games, they’ve become one of the favorite basketball betting bandwagons. Though they were able to beat Nebraska handedly, they failed to cover the 8-point spread, leading to their first betting spread loss in a long while.
Against Kansas, Texas A&M has been up and down. They’re 3-2 ATS and have pushed the OVER in just 2-of-5 games. Making matters much worse is the fact that they’re just 1-9 SU when playing the favored Jayhawks. So while we won’t expect them to cause an upset tonight, the one thing they can do is reward their betting backers.
#23 Texas A&M Aggies (23-8) vs. #1 Kansas Jayhawks (30-2)
Friday, March 12 th --- Sprint Center --- 7:00pm EST
NCAAB Betting Line: Kansas -9.5 (136.5)
The Jayhawks have also been miserable on the NCAAB betting line this season. Despite their magnificent season, and their unreal success in the Big 12, they’re just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games. What I’m scared of tonight is how they react to the newfound pressure of being the biggest target in the Big 12 Tournament.
Living up to expectations is simply part of sports, and Kansas now has shadowed doubts of how well suited they are as a solid tournament free pick. Foul trouble and inconsistent shooting hounded them in the win over Texas Tech. Their 2,000 th win was a milestone for the school’s program, but it wasn’t without major difficulties.
Texas A&M is going to be one of those teams that unleashes every weapon that they have. Earlier this season they hosted Kansas with a 54-59 loss, but rewarded their betting backers by covering a +6.5 point betting line as underdogs.
The best teams in the country have been vulnerable to upstarts this week and Kansas needs to justify their fifth ranked scoring offense, which notches 82.2 points per game, by proving they can be more consistent. The idea of covering such a big line against a team that has been admirable in effort against them is something I can’t stomach.
Furious Free Pick: Texas A&M +9.5 (UNDER)
