Texas A&M vs Penn State Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/16/23
Penn State Nittany Lions (22-13) vs Texas A&M Aggies (25-9)
March 16, 2023 9:55 pm EDT
The Line: Texas A&M -2.5 / Penn State +2.5 ; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas A&M Aggies meet Thursday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Wells Fargo Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are averaging 72.4 points on 46.7 percent shooting and allowing 68.2 points on 43.4 percent shooting. Jalen Pickett is averaging 18.1 points and 6.8 assists, while Seth Lundy is averaging 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds. Andrew Funk is the third double-digit scorer and Camren Wynter is dishing 1.9 assists. The Penn State Nittany Lions are shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc and 73.7 percent from the free throw line. The Penn State Nittany Lions are allowing 34.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.6 rebounds per game.
The Texas A&M Aggies are averaging 73.3 points on 43.6 percent shooting and allowing 65.6 points on 40 percent shooting. Wade Taylor IV is averaging 16.6 points and 2.8 rebounds, while Tyrece Radford is averaging 13.3 points and 2.5 assists. Henry Coleman III is grabbing 5.6 rebounds and Julius Marble is grabbing 4.3 rebounds. The Texas A&M Aggies are shooting 32.5 percent from beyond the arc and 76.2 percent from the free throw line. The Texas A&M Aggies are allowing 32.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 34.1 rebounds per game.
The Nittany Lions are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 Thursday games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Aggies are 6-20 ATS in their last 26 Thursday games and 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games overall. The over is 8-3-1 in Nittany Lions last 12 overall. The under is 4-1 in Aggies last 5 overall.
The oddsmakers don’t seem to show much love to the Penn State Nittany Lions, but yet they find ways to win most nights and made their way to the Big Ten Tournament Final, losing to number 1 seed Purdue by a bucket. The Texas A&M Aggies are the better defensive side, and I guess that’s what gives them the edge. However, the difference here could be the outside shot, as PSU is 12th in three point percentage and Texas A&M is 278th. If shots fall for Penn State, the Big Ten has a winner here. Give me the bucket.
