The New Mexico State Aggies and the Texas Longhorns meet Thursday in college basketball action from Moody Center. Here’s a Texas vs New Mexico State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Texas vs New Mexico State pick.
New Mexico State Aggies Betting Preview
The Aggies got off to a nice start this year with three straight wins out of the gate. New Mexico State would then fall to Dayton, UNLV, Pepperdine, Bowling Green, and Abilene Christian before finally getting another win over New Mexico, however.
New Mexico State’s Saturday game versus the Lobos was a battle. After giving up a 47-38 halftime lead, the Aggies would eventually prevail 89-83 after 16 points in overtime. Christian Cook topped the team with 27 points and five rebounds.
Texas Longhorns Betting Preview
Over on the Texas side, they fell to Ohio State in their opener then beat Houston Christian, Chicago State, MS Valley State, Syracuse, St. Joseph’s, Delaware State, and NC State. The Longhorns dropped their last game versus UConn, though.
In the matchup with the Huskies over the weekend, Texas was drilled 42-24 in the first half. The Longhorns got better on a 41-34 run from there but eventually lost 76-65. Tre Johnson led the team on 24 points with four assists and three steals.
Why the Texas Longhorns will win
- Texas has won 23 of its last 24 games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
- New Mexico State has lost five of its last six games.
- Texas has won the first half in each of its last 10 night games against non-conference opponents at Moody Center.
Why the New Mexico State Aggies will win
- New Mexico State has won nine of its last 10 games after coming off overtime.
- New Mexico State has won the first half in each of its last seven Thursday night games against non-conference opponents.
Texas vs New Mexico State Prediction
I’ll stay with Texas. The Longhorns could use a dominant outing here after falling at home to a recovering UConn team on Sunday. In that one, Texas gave up 51.9 percent from the field and got out-rebounded 39-25. That makes three games in the last four outings with points totals below 68 and two consecutive outings below 66 points.
As for the Aggies, they pulled off a gutsy finish in the New Mexico game, eventually shooting 51.6 percent from the field. The 17 turnovers (for 17 Lobos points) were just about the only glaring blemish. New Mexico State has 70 or more points in three of the last four games, but I don’t think they’ll keep a cover pace with Texas here if the Longhorns bounce back well.