Texas A&M vs. Nebraska March Madness Preview and Prediction
In the No. 9 vs. No. 8 matchup in the NCAA Tournament South Region, the Texas A&M Aggies face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in first-round action.
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How to Watch Texas A&M vs. Nebraska
When: 6:50 pm ET on Friday, March 22nd
Where: FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee
Watch: TNT
Odds for Texas A&M vs. Nebraska
(odds current at time of publish)
Spread: Nebraska -3
Total: 143.5
DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | Texas A&M vs. Nebraska Matchup
South Region No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M didn’t live up to expectations this season, but the team was able to sneak into the tournament field. The Aggies are now a very difficult opponent to play against. Texas A&M’s offense leaves a lot to be desired, but Wade Taylor IV is one of the most explosive scorers in college basketball. He’s capable of putting Texas A&M on his back and leading the team to a victory. He just needs the slightest bit of help. A nice start would be A&M knocking down some 3s. This was an abysmal shooting team all year. But the defense is going to keep the Aggies in games. They really know how to muck things up and drag opponents into the mud.
South Region No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers
It took Fred Hoiberg a while to find his footing with Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers have finally arrived. Nebraska has a lot of the qualities you look for when searching for a team that can make a run. The Cornhuskers prioritize the right shots, looking to get up 3s whenever they get the opportunity. But they don’t just neglect the defensive end of the floor. They can get stops when they’re dialed in. And Nebraska happens to have Keisei Tominaga, who is the type of player that can single handedly win his team games. The Japanese guard is a flamethrower from deep, and he can knock them down off the dribble. And teams don’t really have the luxury of sending any extra attention his way, as the Cornhuskers have enough talent elsewhere.
Texas A&M vs. Nebraska Preview & Prediction
Texas A&M has been a team on my radar all season long. Their shooting numbers are beyond atrocious, but they still won 20 games in a really solid conference. They even had seven Quadrant 1 wins while shooting 28.4% from 3 and 47% on 2s. The national averages are 33.8% and 50.3%, respectively. They rank in the 340s in eFG% offense.
And honestly, they don’t even stand out that much on defense. Because they’ve played a top-20 schedule per KenPom, their efficiency metrics look a lot more favorably on them than they should. If any sponsors are looking for a NIL deal with the Aggies, it might as well be Windex because they’ve been outstanding when it comes to cleaning the glass this season, but that’s where a lot of the accolades stop.
They were 13th in 3P% and 14th in 2P% in SEC play. Meanwhile, Nebraska was a top-five team in 2P% and 3P% on both offense and defense in the Big Ten. However, Fred Hoiberg’s team was not good on the glass. They were the most frequent 3-point shooting team at 43.6% and made 37.7% of those shots in conference play. Texas A&M had the 12th-highest 3P Rate against this season, as almost 45% of opponents’ shots were 3s.
That makes this game one of the most challenging handicaps of the first round. The statistical profile for Nebraska looks so much more impressive given their national and conference ranks. But, Buzz Williams’ squad won five of the last six games coming into the NCAA Tournament and scored 90 points against Florida to continue a big offensive resurgence.
This is a really tough handicap, but isn’t that what you want out of an 8/9 game? I do lean Under here, as Nebraska allowed a 28.3% shot share on Close Twos and Texas A&M allowed a 31.5% shot share. Both teams forced opponents to shoot a lot of 3s, which could make this one ugly in Memphis.
Estimated Score: Texas Tech 74, Nebraska 71
For expert predictions, go to our college basketball best bets page.
