Texas A&M basketball is set to tip off against the St. Mary’s Gaels tonight in their round one game for March Madness, and the odds are as close as you may expect in this highly-anticipated 7-10 matchup. The Aggies are currently 2.5-point underdogs via Fanduel, meaning that the sports books are anticipating a one-possession game when all is said and done.
This will be a huge clash of styles, as we noted in our preview yesterday— St. Mary’s plays a very slow style as opposed to Texas A&M’s frenetic pace, and the Gaels rely more on rebounding than they do on outside shooting. That’s another arena where the Aggies depart from their opponent on a stylistic basis.
If things are close at the end, it may actually favor the Aggies given their shooting ability. As opposed to last season, Texas A&M boasts way more ability to not only hit the outside shot, but to execute on free throws even in pressure situations.
Texas A&M vs. St. Mary's odds narrowing ahead of March Madness round one game
If it comes down to a clutch shot, the Aggies have several players who could make things happen, whether Marcus Hill, Ruben Dominguez, or Rylan Griffen. Now, that’s not to say things are going to be comfortable if this is the case— even if the game is within five in the final few minutes and the Aggies are up, very few in the maroon and white will feel like they’re resting easy.
That said, the Aggies hope to strike early here and keep a lead throughout. The press could fluster the Gaels pretty quickly and give the Ags some opportunities— and the intensity that comes with the NCAA Tournament will help A&M in that regard. As the game wears on, the Gaels could adjust well and leave the Ags fewer opportunities to pick up turnovers, however.
Hopefully, Texas A&M can actually get some of those opportunities early on, though. Low turnover numbers for A&M usually equates with a bad result, just like good shooting equates with a positive one. If that is the case, then I think you will likely see them emerge with a win— let’s go with the Aggies advancing by a narrow margin, about three points or so.