Texas A&M vs. Houston March Madness Preview and Prediction
In a No. 9 vs. No. 1 matchup in the NCAA Tournament South Region, the Texas A&M Aggies face the Houston Cougars in second-round action.
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How to Watch Texas A&M vs. Houston
When: 8:40 pm ET on Sunday, March 24th
Where: FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee
Watch: TNT
Odds for Texas A&M vs. Houston
(odds current at time of publish)
Spread: Houston -10
Total: 131
DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | Texas A&M vs. Houston 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. 1 Houston Cougars
Houston is arguably the best defensive team in the nation, according to adjusted defensive efficiency ratings from Bart Torvik. Steve Makinen also has the Cougars second in our VSiN Power Ratings. Kelvin Sampson’s team is once again impossible to score on, and the Big 12 Coach of the Year will be hoping that’s enough for the Cougars to win it all. Sampson led Houston to the Final Four in 2021, marking the second time he’s been there in his career. But the 68-year-old is looking to finish the story now. The question is whether the Cougars have enough offensive weaponry to do that. Jamal Shead is an experienced floor general for this squad, and L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp can both get hot. But Houston doesn’t crack the nation’s top 100 in 3PT% or 3P rate. At some point a situation will call on the Cougars to open things up and let ‘em fly.
Texas A&M vs. Houston Preview & Prediction
One of the top offensive performances of the first round belonged to Texas A&M, who dropped 98 points against Nebraska. The Aggies were 35-of-81 from the floor, including a stellar 13-of-23 performance from 3. They also pulled down 14 offensive rebounds. The Aggies were one of the nation’s top offensive rebounding teams, but also ranked in the 300s in 3P% and 2P%.
Was it just an out-of-body experience for A&M or simply a continuation of what started at the end of the regular season and continued in the SEC Tournament? The Aggies had 1.192, 1.296, 1.115, 1.279, and 1.201 points per possession in their final five games before racking up 1.325 in the win over the Cornhuskers.
Real estate will be a lot harder to come by against Houston, as the Cougars brought the nation’s top defense by adjusted defensive efficiency into the Big Dance. Houston also ranked in the top five in TO% on defense and also the top 10 in TO% on offense. The Aggies were among the top 20 in TO% on offense, but below the national average on defense.
Houston’s suffocating defense ranked second in the SEC in efficiency, eFG%, TO%, 2P%, and Block%, so it will be interesting to see if Texas A&M can get inside enough to be effective or if they’ll have to settle for a lot of long jumpers. It would benefit the Cougars if that was the case, as their offense can get a little stagnant after ranking in the 230s in eFG%.
Estimated Score: Houston 72, Texas A&M 63
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