Missouri Texas A&M Betting – Tigers And Aggies Try To Establish An Identity
The Missouri Tigers want to shake off an embarrassing loss in their conference opener. The Texas A&M Aggies want to do what they’ve been doing. They meet this Saturday afternoon.
NCAA basketball betting: Missouri Tigers @ Texas A&M Aggies
Online Betting Odds: No line
Why To Bet On Missouri
There are two solid reasons to bet on coach Mike Anderson’s Tigers this weekend at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. First of all, Missouri figures to still be hopping mad about getting drubbed by Colorado last Saturday in the team’s Big 12 Conference opener. Missouri had won nine straight over Colorado, one of the longtime doormats in the conference. Missouri’s defense simply didn’t show up, and the lack of relative effort at the defensive end of the floor could very well serve as a needed wake-up call for this team. Anderson will push his roster to work a lot harder on the road against an A&M club that’s known for playing physical, rugged basketball.
The other reason to pick Missouri is that the Tigers are facing an A&M team that hasn’t been tested in a full month. The Aggies’ last really good win came against the University of Washington back on Dec. 11. Other than that win and a late-November victory over the highly-regarded Temple Owls, A&M just hasn’t played tough opponents. Missouri is going to be the best team the Aggies have faced all season long; they might be surprised by the Tigers’ speed and athleticism.
Why To Bet On Texas A&M
The Aggies’ schedule might not have been supremely imposing, but A&M is a very tough out at home in College Station, and the key thing about playing at home is that it’s easier to establish a preferred tempo in your own building. Missouri likes to play at a mile-a-minute pace and create helter skelter, 94-foot game in which possessions and shots accumulate rather rapidly. A&M prefers a slowdown game with patient 30-second possessions and a lot of dump-downs to the low post. A&M, by virtue of playing at home, is a lot more likely to create the tempo and game flow it wants. Yes, this also means that the margin of the game is going to be closer (that’s generally the case in lower-scoring games), but it still puts A&M in its comfort zone. The other thing to notice is that Missouri is really dependent on just one player. Marcus Denmon leads the Tigers in eight – yes, eight – different offensive categories ranging from free-throw shooting to three-point percentage and points per game. No one team should be this imbalanced. Naturally, if A&M can then contain Denmon and make other Missouri players step up on the road, it’s going to be hard for the Tigers to overtake the Aggies. Conventional wisdom in basketball says that role players thrive at home but not on the road. Advantage, home team.
How The Game Will Play Out
Texas A&M will indeed dictate the tempo and contain Marcus Denmon. Put this game in Columbia, and it’s likely a different story. In College Station, though, the Aggies are well situated to get a victory.
Missouri Texas A&M Betting Pick: Texas A&M
