Texas vs Texas A&M | Predictions

NCAA Basketball Free Pick – Monday, January 31, 2011

vs.

#8 Texas (18-3, 6-0 Big 12) at #11 Texas A&M (17-3, 4-2 Big 12)
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 9:00 PM EST on ESPN

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Spread: Texas -1 ½
Over/Under: 129

The battle of the Lone Star state shifts to Reed Arena on Monday evening when the No. 8 Texas Longhorns look sweep the regular season series with a victory over No. 11 Texas A&M.

The Longhorns punctuated their claim for a No. 1 seed come March by toppling the Aggies a little less than two weeks ago, 82-61 in Austin. However, it’s been exactly seven years since the Longhorns last won in College Station, a place where the Aggies are currently 12-0.

Texas will attempt to preserve its unbeaten Big 12 streak that was extended with a 71-58 home victory over No. 11 Missouri on Saturday. The Horns have won their six league games by an average of 18.5 points — averaging a conference-high 83.7 points — and have held Big 12 opponents to a conference-best 54.2 points per game.

Jordan Hamilton led the way with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the win against the Tigers.

But it wasn’t all offense during that showdown as Texas, one of the nation’s most physical teams, brought it’s stifling defense to the party, holding the Tigers to a season low in Saturday’s contest.

Hamilton, the Longhorns scoring leader (19 points per game), and Tristan Thompson (2^nd in scoring at 12.9 points per game) lead Texas with 7.6 boards per game. The Horns as a whole, average nearly three more rebounds a game than the Aggies, 41.4 to 38.5.

Meanwhile, A&M was pushed around by Nebraska it last time out, shooting below 40 percent for the game and gave the ball away double what the Cornhuskers did with 14 turnovers. The Aggies went just 6-of-14 free throw shooting and were held to 24 percent shooting in the second half. Nathan Walkup scored 13 points and leading scorer Khris Middleton added 12 for Texas A&M, which has lost two of three.

Hamilton had 27 points versus A&M earlier this month. The sophomore swingman was one of two Longhorns to score in double-digits with 10 off the bench, in College Station last season.

The odds makers have the Texas Longhorns as a -1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 129.

Matt’s Free Pick:  Texas A&M +1 ½ - Texas will bring its menacing defense to this one, the same one that ended the Aggies 13-game win streak earlier this month. The Horns also blasted A&M in that one shooting 58 percent. To make matters worse Texas shot 19-of-22 from the strip to the Aggies 10-of-17.

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Texas Longhorns Betting Trends:

• Texas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Texas’s last 7 games on the road
• Texas is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Texas A&M
• Texas is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Texas A&M

Texas A&M Aggies Betting Trends:

• Texas A&M is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas A&M’s last 6 games
• Texas A&M is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
• Texas A&M is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games when playing Texas

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