Xavier vs. Texas A&M NIT Championship Game Picks: Who Will Be Crowned at the Garden? (Archive)
It’s not the NCAA Championship but Xavier and Texas A&M will play for the NIT Championship instead. The game is being played at Madison Square Garden and both teams are looking to prove to the NCAA that they belonged in the NCAA Tournament. Which team will come out on top for our best bets?
Xavier Musketeers vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thursday, March 31, 2022 – 07:00 PM EDT at Madison Square Garden
Betting Preview
The Xavier Musketeers and Texas A&M Aggies will be playing for the NIT Championship tonight. It’s not the NCAA Tournament, but both teams have the chance to add a postseason championship to their resumes.
Ultimately, both teams were on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament and are trying to prove that they belonged in the field of 68.
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The Texas A&M Aggies have been absolutely incredible since mid-February. Texas A&M has won 11 of its last 12 games and even played in the SEC Championship against Tennessee. If the NCAA Tournament cared about adding hot teams, the Aggies would’ve made the NCAA Tournament.
Anyway, Texas A&M has been very efficient on the offensive end. The Aggies just shoot 32.3% from deep and 50.1% from inside the arc but are able to earn 33.6% offensive rebounds and get to the foul line at a very high rate.
Meanwhile, Xavier has held teams to 32.1% from deep and 48.3% from inside the arc while limiting the two areas that Texas A&M is very good at. The Musketeers are holding teams to 26% offensive rebounds and 25.3% from inside. However, a lot of Xavier’s stats are a bit skewed knowing that Paul Scruggs won’t be available for this game due to injury.
On the other hand, Xavier is shooting just 32.1% from deep but 52.2% from inside the arc. The Musketeers will likely get to the foul line more often, but neither team shoots at a very high rate. Xavier has been very solid holding onto the basketball but overall, Texas A&M can make any team look silly as the Aggies force 23.9% turnovers per game.
On the defensive glass, the Aggies also allow 33.2% offensive rebounds but have allowed just 30.9% from deep this season along with 47.7% from inside the arc.
Prediction
Xavier has had to play without Paul Scruggs. It hasn’t been easy but so far, Xavier’s seen guys like Jack Nunge, Zach Freemantle, and Adam Kunkel step up in crucial moments.
On paper, this game is evenly matched but Texas A&M could surprise with more forced turnovers and more offensive rebounds. The Aggies also shoot it slightly better from deep and defend better in terms of effective field goal percentage.
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Again, it really comes down to Xavier holding onto the basketball. Nunge, Freemantle, and Kunkel have all been very good at limiting turnovers personally, but how many times have we seen teams that are really careful with the ball struggle against teams that are very good at forcing turnovers?
Following the NCAAB odds, I’ll take Texas A&M against the spread for my college basketball picks.
NCAAB Pick: Texas A&M -4.5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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