One of the most popular picks in most brackets is going to be the New Mexico State Aggies over the Clemson Tigers. Clemson was one of the scariest teams in the country over the first half of the season, but the team has looked much different over the latter half.
Losing Donte Grantham for the year two months ago really hurt. Grantham was the team’s best player and without him the Tigers have troubled to keep up their winning ways. They went 2-6 against NCAA Tournament teams down the stretch, so many are calling for this to be the No. 12 seed over the No. 5 seed that seems to happen every tournament.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, March 16, 2018, at 10 p.m. ET at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California. The game will be televised live on truTV. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Clemson -5New Mexico State +5Over/Under 133.5
Give credit to Clemson for battling back to make the it to the Big Dance. It had been seven years since the Tigers made it to this point, and that saved Brad Brownell’s job.
Clemson has been a solid team to bet on all year. The program was underestimated at the beginning of the year and there was plenty of value in backing them, and then near the end there was value again after Grantham went down. The Tigers were 17-12 against the college basketball betting odds this season.
The Aggies have dominated the WAC this decade. New Mexico State has won seven of the last nine conference tournaments, and with that, the conference’s automatic bid to the Big Dance.
The WAC is not what it once was, but the addition of Grand Canyon has made it a difficult conference. That makes New Mexico State a dangerous team, as it also went 6-2-2 ATS this season and picked up a big road in a neutral site game against Miami.
Players to Watch
New Mexico State has relied heavily on two players this season, Zach Lofton and Jemerrio Jones. Jones is one of the nation’s leading rebounders. He is averaging a double-double this season and has been a very efficient scorer to boot. Jones is hitting over 50 percent of his field goals this season and has been phenomenal over the Aggies’ last five games. In that stretch, he has hit half of his field goals and grabbed at least 13 boards in each affair.
Lofton is the team’s leading scorer and who the Aggies rely on when they need a basket. He is averaging nearly 20 PPG on the year and is hitting over 45 percent of his field goals and more than 38 percent of his triples.
Key Stat
Clemson has been one of the best defensive teams in the nation this season. Ken Pomeroy has the Tigers ranked as the eighth-best unit in the nation, and they have allowed opponents to hit a scant 41 percent of their field goals this season.
That’s been key because the Tigers don’t have the size to defend the glass, so they need to keep teams from getting easy buckets whenever they can. Clemson will fare much better in this regard against New Mexico State than it did against ACC foes this year.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
This is far too few points for Clemson to be laying. The Tigers have been competitive even without Grantham and were able to beat both North Carolina and Florida State without him. Clemson won’t be able to make a deep run in the tournament, but it will be able to get past New Mexico State and into the Round of 32.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: Clemson 69, New Mexico State 62
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