Few teams are playing as well as the Longhorns right now.
Will they keep momentum high with a victory against the Aggies as the favorites
on Monday?
A narrow overtime loss to Connecticut has seemingly lit a
fire under this Texas Longhorn team, who have won six straight conference games, all by
double-digits no less.
That's pretty impressive, especially when you consider that
during that streak the Longhorns have played three top 25 opponents in Missouri, Kansas and Texas A&M.
This will be the rematch of these in-state rivals, and Texas
will be riding high after a comprehensive 71-58 victory over the Missouri Tigers.
The Texas Longhorns got contributions from all over the floor, but
Jordan Hamilton and Gary Johnson really stood out. Hamilton had 16 points, 13
rebounds and five assists while Johnson put up 15 points and nine boards.
We'll see if the red-hot Longhorns can sweep the season
series versus the Aggies on Monday.
In what was the Aggies' worst performance of the season,
they lost 48-56 at Nebraska their last time out after getting outscored by 16
in the second half.
Nathan Walkup was the best of the worst for A&M, scoring
13 points on 5-of-10 shooting while pulling down three rebounds.
Texas-sized rivalry
The Longhorns are a remarkable 13-3 ATS this season, the
best record at the betting window of any other Division 1 team.
That includes a 7-1 ATS mark on the road, the only slip-up a
loss to USC. The reason for their incredibly strong play of late?
Rebounding and defense. With Tristan Thompson stepping up in
the post, Texas has won the battle on the glass in every contest of their
six-game winning streak.
In their previous six encounters, the Longhorns have also
really stepped it up a notch on the defensive end. Allowing just over 54 PPG in
that span, they've stifled potent offensive teams such as Kansas (63 points)
and Missouri (58) in the process.
The Final Line
NCAA Basketball betting lines for Monday night's game had Rick Barnes' team
favored by two points, but the line has slowly shifted to 1.5 in favor of the
visitors. Be sure to keep checking SBRodds.com for the live movements from the top sportsbooks leading
up to tipoff.
The Texas A&M Aggies have covered in four of the last five meetings
between the two schools, but I don't see that trend continuing.
I made the mistake of siding against the Longhorns (-4.5)
when they visited Oklahoma State and I paid dearly for it. Needless to say, I'm
backing Texas here in Monday's contest.
No stranger to tough assignments, the Longhorns know how to
win in intimidating atmospheres and they'll be prepared for the wild fans at
Reed Arena.
My Pick: The battle down low should be won by Texas and that
should be enough for them to secure the cover on the road.