Neither team is having their best season, but both of them have had some strong teams over the past few years. That said, the Texas A&M Aggies and Indiana Hoosiers baseball teams going head-to-head in the regionals round of the Division 1 NCAA baseball tournament this evening should be a competitive bout.
On one side, the Indiana Hoosiers have gone 38-17 this season and 14-9 in a respectable Big 10 conference. On the other side, playing in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) made life hard on the Texas A&M Aggies; they went 13-17 in conference play but still managed to go 39-20 on the season. Here is the line on their matchup from BetDSI Sportsbook:
The odds for Texas A&M and Indiana
Texas A&M +130
Indiana -170
Spread -1.5
Over/Under 8.5
This one certainly has the potential to be a good matchup. Both teams have been competent outside of their leagues. Sure, the Aggies enjoyed a little bit more success outside of it, but they played some weak competition early in the year like URI and Cornell. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers started their season with a non-league bout against the Oklahoma Sooners and took non-league games against schools like Notre Dame, Ball State, Purdue and Kentucky. Looking at their schedule, the Aggies weren’t going out of their way to play tough opponents when they didn’t have to but then again, their conference is loaded with difficult opponents.
At the plate, the teams have been surprisingly similar. The Aggies are hitting .284 on the year with an .781 OPS while the Hoosiers are hitting .284 with an .824 OPS. Indiana seems to have a little more power in their lineup with Logan Sowers (11 home runs) and Luke Miller (10 home runs) while their opponent has no players with that many jacks.
From the looks of it, the Hoosiers also have a superior pitching staff. Their 2.95 ERA trumps that of Texas A&M (3.23). However, the Aggies–for what it is worth–appear to walk slightly less batters, so that could be helpful.
A quick look at the offense and pitching staff tells one why Indiana is favored in this matchup, but it does not tell the whole story. In addition to playing in a better conference, Texas A&M has one major advantage in this one: they’re at home. The Aggies are 27-8 when they’re at home this year which gives them a major leg up. When the Hoosiers aren’t playing on their home court–or baseball diamond, in this case–they are 10-9 this season. That’s not exactly a threat to a team who has won about twice as many games as it has lost.
The pick
That said, it’s tough to pick a winner here. These are two highly competent baseball teams. Most likely though, picking Texas A&M appears to be the right move. They’re technically the underdogs in this one, but it’s hard to say that for certain given how similarly they match up. The game is in Austin, Texas though which should give them a major leg up over the rest. If the game were in Indiana, then they would be the clear favorites since the Aggies are 7-10 on the road this season.
