New Mexico State vs Grand Canyon 3/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Grand Canyon Antelopes & New Mexico State Aggies will square off at Orleans Arena this Friday night in the Semifinals of the WAC Tournament.

The 4-seed Grand Canyon Antelopes improved to 23-7 on the season after defeating the 5-seed Sam Houston Bearkats, 71-66, last night. Grand Canyon was outstanding on the defensive end against Sam Houston and was able to hold off the Bearkats late after a Holland Woods jumper gave the Antelopes a 63-62 lead with 1:06 left in regulation. Grand Canyon shot 48.1% from the field & 45.0% from beyond the arc while holding Sam Houston to 41.8% shooting from the field & 31.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Antelopes was Holland Woods who had 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 steal.

Coming into their game against Sam Houston, Grand Canyon was averaging 71.1 ppg on 42.9% shooting from the field. The Antelopes were averaging 8.1 three-pointers per game on 35.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Grand Canyon has been led by Jovan Blacksher Jr. (16.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 spg), Holland Woods (14.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.1 apg), Gabe McGlothan (9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg), & Sean Miller-Moore (7.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 apg).

Defensively, prior to their matchup against Sam Houston, Grand Canyon was holding their opponents to an average of 60.6 ppg on 38.0% shooting from the field.

The New Mexico State Aggies finished their regular season with an overall record of 24-6 and earned the 1-seed in the WAC Tournament after finishing conference play with a 14-4 record. New Mexico State finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with an 12-2 record with their best wins coming against Davidson & Washington State. New Mexico State won 10 of their first 11 conference games, however, despite a solid 16-point victory over Utah Valley in their regular season finale, the Aggies have lost 2 of their last 3 games which included a shocking loss to Chicago State.

On the season, New Mexico State is averaging 73.5 ppg on 46.0% shooting from the field. The Aggies are averaging 7.9 three-pointers per game on 32.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, New Mexico State has been led by Teddy Allen (19.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg), Sir’Jabari Rice (12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.3 apg), Johnny McCants (8.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 apg), & Will McNair Jr. (6.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg).

Defensively, New Mexico State is holding their opponents to an average of 65.3 ppg on 39.2% shooting from the field. The Aggies have a rebound margin of 7.3 and a turnover margin of -2.0.

The Antelops are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 4-0 ATS in thier last 4 games following a ATS win. The Aggies are 9-2 ATS in thier last 11 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 & 5-2 ATS in thie last 7 neutral site games.

New Mexico State defeated Grand Canyon in both of their regular season matchups as the Aggies defeated the Antelopes by a 71-60 margin at home in mid-January and by a 82-66 margin on the road in late February.

Grand Canyon has been led by their defense which ranks 12^th in scoring defense & 5^th in defensive FG%, however, the Antelopes have struggled a bit on the offensive end, coming into this matchup ranked 170^th in scoring offense & 246^th in FG%. New Mexico State has been solid on both ends of the court as the Aggies come into this game ranked 74^th in FG%, 62^nd in scoring defense, & 18^th in defensive FG%. Grand Canyon has a great defense, however, the Antelopes had no answers for the Aggies in the regular season and as I expect the Grand Canyon offense to struggle against the New Mexico State defense, my initial thought is to take the Aggies to cover this small spread. Good Luck!