It's a big deal, in Texas anyway, when the Aggies of Texas A&M and Texas Longhorns get together in anything. And it's a big deal for the No. 13 ranked Aggies men's basketball team to show better against the seventh-ranked Horns at Reed Arena Monday (9 PM Eastern) than they did in Austin 12 days ago (Jan. 19) where they suffered their worst loss of the 2010-11 season. Odds makers at most offshore sports shops list the Aggies as plus-1 1/2 point spreads underdogs to Texas with a posted total of 128 1/2. Texas is a -125 money line favorite to win the game straight up. Keep tabs on the most up to date NCAA Basketball Point Spreads as you make your hoops plays, all the way through to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
The Longhorns showed no mercy in their last meeting beating A&M by 21 points and easily covering the 6 1/2-point chalk set by odds makers. On Saturday (Jan. 29) the Aggies could have been caught looking ahead to tonight's game, as they fell at Nebraska in Lincoln 57-48. With the loss, A&M falls to third in the BIG 12 standings behind Texas and Kansas.
The good news for Texas A&M, however; is they only trail the Longhorns by two games in the standings with 10 conference games left to play this regular season. Of course the kicker is – they need to beat Texas.
Early betting trends show Texas the betting fans favorite, with 76 percent of side bets on the Longhorns. Currently, there are no money line trend numbers available.
Texas is 18-3 SU this season and is 5-2 on the road. The Longhorns have covered the point spreads in 13-of-16 lined games this season and are 6-1 ATS on the road. Over their last 10 games, Texas is 9-1 both SU and ATS, and over that span going 5-0 ATS in road games.
The Longhorns have won six straight, most recently a 71-58 home victory over No. 11 Missouri. The Longhorns losses this season have come to Pitt, in New York City, at USC and their only home loss, in overtime to UConn.
Texas A&M is 13-1 SU at home this season with a 17-3 overall record. The Aggies have covered the point spreads in 4-of-6 home games and are 7-4 ATS on the year. Over A&M's last 10 games, they are 7-0 at home SU and 4-1 ATS.
Game Predictions: The Longhorns have demonstrated they can go on the road into an intimidated venue and win. Texas is 3-0 on the road since beginning BIG 12 play and has pleased its backers by covering the point spreads in all three. Make it four straight ATS after tonight's game at College Station. NCAAB Best Bet – Texas -1 1/2.
