The Texas A&M Aggies can win just its second postseason tournament of any kind when they take on the Xavier Musketeers in the championship game of the 2022 NIT on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A&M (27-12) has not won a postseason tournament since the 1987 Southwest Conference Tournament. A&M could also tie a school record for wins (28) with a victory on Thursday. Meanwhile Xavier (22-13) is looking to win the NIT for the second time in program history and the first time since 1958.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Aggies are favored by 4.5 points in the latest Texas A&M vs. Xavier odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 137.5. Before making any Xavier vs. Texas A&M picks, be sure to check out the NIT predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Texas A&M vs. Xavier, and just locked in its picks and CBB predictions for the National Invitation Tournament 2022. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Xavier vs. Texas A&M:
- Texas A&M vs. Xavier spread: Aggies -4.5
- Texas A&M vs. Xavier over-under: 137.5 points
- Texas A&M vs. Xavier moneyline: Aggies -190, Musketeers +160
- TAMU: The Aggies rank fifth in the country in steals per game (10.1)
- XAV: Jack Nunge leads the team in scoring (13.4 points per game)
Why Texas A&M can cover
Quenton Jackson is on a roll. Over the last 11 games, the 6-foot-5 guard from Los Angeles leads the team with 17.1 points on 59.0 percent shooting and 32 steals. He has scored in double figures in 20 of the last 21 games.
In addition, Tyrece Radford has been a catalyst in A&M’s late-season surge. The 6-foot-2 transfer from Virginia Tech is averaging 13.1 points and 7.6 rebounds since the win against Georgia on Feb. 22. In the NIT, he is nearly averaging a double-double, with 9.8 points and 10.0 rebounds a game.
Why Xavier can cover
Zach Freemantle enters Thursday’s final on a hot streak. Over his last five games, the 6-foot-9 junior from Teaneck, N.J., has averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Those are significant increases over his season averages (10.6 and 5.7).
In addition, the Musketeers face an A&M team that doesn’t shoot well from the outside. The Aggies average just 6.5 made 3-point field goals per game, which ranks 256th in the country. They also make just 32.4 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts, which ranks 248th.
How to make Texas A&M vs. Xavier picks
The model is leaning over on the point total, predicting a combined 140 points, and it also has generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in 70 percent of simulations. You can only get the model’s pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Xavier vs. Texas A&M? And which side of the spread can you bank on in 70 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texas A&M vs. Xavier spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $1,200 on its college basketball picks the last five-plus years, and find out.