The No.2-seeded Texas A&M Aggies face the No.3-seeded Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the second round of the NIT tournament at Reed Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Mar. 23 and can be seen on ESPN.
The Aggies played well in their last game, topping Montana 81-64 in the first round. Jalen Jones was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are coming off an 89-79 win against Central Michigan in the first round. Michale Kyser claimed his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and six rebounds.
The odds for Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available. The Aggies have gone 21-11 Straight Up (SU) and 18-12 Against The Spread (ATS). Texas A&M is one of the best passing teams in the nation with an average of 14.5 assists per game. Texas A&M’s three-point defense can be considered one of the best in the nation. The Aggies allow a .303 opponent three-point field goal percentage, one of the lowest shooting rates in the nation.
Over on the other bench, the Bulldogs have a record of 12-17 ATS and 26-8 SU. Louisiana Tech has a good SU record over the last 10 games (8-2), but have a 3-7 record ATS. The Bulldogs are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 43rd in Division I at 1.27. Shifting to the other side of the court, the Bulldogs are a terror in the passing lanes, averaging an impressive 8.5 steals per game.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these two. Their previous game was an Aggies victory, bumping their SU record to 2-0 over Louisiana Tech. The teams are even ATS, with a 1-1 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – LaTech, ATS Winner – LaTech
Notes
Texas A&M is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
Texas A&M is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas A&M’s last 5 games at home.
Ranked 75th, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs have an offensive rating of 107.2. The Texas A&M Aggies rank 136th with a defensive rating of just 184.0.
Louisiana Tech has an average field goal percentage of 44.9%. Texas A&M is a losing 1-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Texas A&M Aggies average 15.8 three point attempts per game, and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs attempt 21.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Texas A&M is 5-3 and Louisiana Tech is 16-3.
Texas A&M ranks 83rd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.17, while Louisiana Tech ranks 43rd with an A/TO of 1.27.
Texas A&M, the 81st-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 36.3 rebounds per game. Louisiana Tech does worse, ranked 221st with 33.4.
Louisiana Tech averages 8.5 steals per game, ranking 13th in the country. Texas A&M is an underachieving 4-7 when it allows at least 8 steals.
