Providence vs Texas A&M 2018 March Madness Lines & Pick

The seventh-seeded  Texas A&M Aggies will need to be on high alert when they take on the 10th-seeded Providence Friars in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.  The two national championship hopefuls will square off in the West Region on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. at 12:15 PM ET. Now, let’s find out where the March Madness bettingProvidence vs. Texas A&M 2018 March Madness Betting Lines & Pick

Gameday. 😏 #MarchMadness #GoFriars pic.twitter.com/exKsjbHaeS

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) March 16, 2018

When: Friday, March 16, 2018 at 12:15 PM ET Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina TV: CBS March Madness Betting Lines: Texas A&M -2.5 Total: 138

Why Consider Providence’s March Madness Betting Lines at +2.5?

Why should you consider betting on Providence in this contest? Well, for me, if Providence can beat a pair of top five teams like Xavier and a Villanova squad that I consider to be arguably the best in the nation, then they can truly beat anyone on any given day. In addition to that, statistically, Providence isn’t very far off from Texas A&M at both ends of the floor even though they do have slight disadvantage in both offense and defense. Providence finished in a three-way tie for third in the Big East but beat the Creighton and the Xavier Musketeers in overtime to reach the conference championship opposite Villanova where they fell 76-66, but not before taking the Wildcats to OT, The Friars have three players averaging double figures in scoring ad average 73.7 points per game while allowing 72.7 points per contest defensively. Keep in mind that Providence went 3-3 against Villanova and Xavier this season and both of those squads earned No. 1 seeds in their respective regions.

Why Consider Texas A&M’s March Madness Betting Lines at -2.5?

Why should you consider betting on Texas A&M in this contest? The best reason to bet on Texas A&M is that they’re statistically better than Providence at both ends of the floor. The Aggies also beat some big-time teams this season in taking out Kentucky and Auburn in their last 10 games alone. The Aggies also showed they have some fortitude by overcoming an 0-5 start in the SEC to finish 9-9 and tied for seventh. Texas A&M has four double-digit scorers, and should have a big size advantage in leading scorer, Tyler Davis, a 6-10 junior center for who averages a team-high 14.5 points and 8.8 rebounds.

Expert Analysis and Prediction

67 percent of public bettors like Providence to cover the chalk and so do I, based mostly on the fact that the Friars have won they can play with any team in the country by their exploits against Villanova and Xavier. Not only that, but Texas A&M has been awful when it comes to covering the spread. The Aggies are an uninspiring 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall, 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a straight up loss, -4 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record. Conversely, Providence has gone 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600, 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record, 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Friday games. Add it all up and it sounds like Providence wins outright! Pick: Providence +2.5