NCAAB Tournament (9) Texas A&M vs Nebraska (8) Betting Preview

History could be made on Friday night in the Texas A&M vs Nebraska matchup as the Cornhuskers (23-10) look for their first tournament win in program history trying to crack an 0 for 7 streak.

Texas A&M played well in the SEC tournament, averaging 89 ppg over three games before finally losing to Florida in the semifinals when they couldn’t secure an 18-point lead. This should be the type of close contest we see in a #9 vs #8 matchup, and oddsmakers agree as they’ve set Nebraska as slight -1.5 favorites.

Why Texas A&M Has Value at +1.5

Nebraska has a fast paced offense that loves to shoot the three-point ball, but that doesn’t always translate well in tournament play. The neutral site of the FedEx Forum in Memphis is one thing, but the Cornhuskers also have to deal with the nerves of making their first tournament appearance in 10 years and having never won a March Madness game in program history.

Texas A&M has the style of play that is built for this time of year, they are a tough, physical team that storms the boards for offensive rebounds. The Aggies are in the bottom 100 in all of college basketball in adjusted tempo, limiting the amount of possessions for a Nebraska team that was 4th in the Big Ten in scoring this season at 77.6 ppg.

Make no mistake, while the Aggies do traditionally run a slower pace and play a more physical game, they also scored 90+ points in their last two games during the SEC Tournament. Wade Taylor IV posted consecutive 30+ point games in the conference tournament and three other A&M players scored at least 13.7 ppg last weekend.

Why Nebraska Has Value at -1.5

Like Friday night’s opponent, Nebraska had a good run in their conference tournament blowing the doors off of Indiana 93-66 in their opener and holding a 15-point lead in the 2nd half over Illinois before the Fighting Illini’s Terrence Shannon, Jr. set a Big Ten Tournament record with 40 points to help his team get a 98-87 victory.

While Texas A&M does like a more physical game, they are also just 57th in the KenPom adjusted deficiency ratings and allowed opponents to score nearly 70 ppg. This goes with an Aggies offense that shoots 39.7% from the floor (349th) and 27.8% from three (359th).

While Nebraska has a talented group of scorers led by Brice Williams, who averaged 23.0 ppg in the Big Ten Tournament and Keisei Tominaga (20.0), their defense is very underated. The Cornhuskers are a top 10 team in opponent field goal percentage (39.6%) and are 31st in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Free (9) Texas A&M vs Nebraska (8) Betting Pick

Texas A&M has never beat a Big Ten team in the tournament (0-3) but Nebraska hasn’t beaten any team (0-7) so something will give on Friday night. This is a very evenly matched game with both teams having an above average defense to go along with some talented individual scorers. One thing to note about the Cornhuskers is that they won 7 of 8 games prior to the Illinois loss – all by at least 11 points.

Free Pick: Nebraska -1.5