Texas A&M Basketball vs North Carolina: Preview, prediction, how to watch
Texas A&M basketball beat Providence in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, earning a Round of 32 game with North Carolina. Here’s how to watch.
More: 3 takeaways from Aggies’ win over Providence on Friday
Texas A&M stepped one game closer to the second weekend of the 2018 NCAA Tournament after knocking out Providence on Friday afternoon. The maroon and white put together a team effort to take down the Friars and advance to the Round of 32, where they’ll meet the North Carolina Tarheels, the defending National Champions.
UNC took care of Lipscomb, who was making their tournament debut this year, with ease. Despite Thursday and Friday being rocked with upsets, there was never a moment of the ‘Heels opener that they did not control.
An occasional NCAA visitor against a blue blood program, here’s everything you need to know to catch Texas A&M take on North Carolina in the Second Round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
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How to Watch
Date: Sunday, Mar. 17
Time: 4:15 p.m. CT
Venue: Spectrum Center
Location: Charlotte, NC
TV: CBS
Streaming: NCAA.com, CBS All Access
Keys to victory
Texas A&M needs to make North Carolina grind. If this turns into a race to 100 points the Aggies are going to get left in the dust. Rather, the defensive success that the Aggies were able to generate against Providence needs to be amplified 10-fold against North Carolina.
Tyler Davis and Robert Williams each recorded double-doubles against Providence. That’s the baseline for a successful outing against UNC. Not only will each of those giants need to produce on the boards and the offensive side of the ball, someone else is going to have to get into rhythm from the outside. Texas A&M did execute the drive, kick and shoot well against Providence at all, but part of that was the lack of three-pointer shooters. Now, more than ever, DJ Hogg needs to show up in a big way.
TJ Starks is the x-factor. He’s going to have his highs and lows, but he needs to amplify the good while limiting the freshman mistakes. The offense goes as he does, so another six-plus turnover game from their point guard could spell disaster for Texas A&M. If he can find the open man and play under control for a full 40 minutes, Texas A&M has a chance. And that’s all they can ask for as underdogs in the Big Dance.
Next: 3 reasons Aggies can make a run to Sweet 16
Prediction
Texas A&M played to their Jekyll and Hyde nature against Providence in the first round. The Aggies were able to string together enough defensive plays late to overcome their own frenetic offensive attack. That’s not going to work against UNC. Texas A&M has to play a perfect game to beat North Carolina, and frankly they haven’t been able to do that in months.