The South Carolina Gamecocks played well enough in non-conference play to put it in the running for a berth in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, but must keep it up now in the SEC. Their journey will continue with a road game against the Texas A&M Aggies.
South Carolina has a pair of wins over ranked teams this year but also lost four times in the non-conference schedule, so it has been inconsistent. It won’t be easy to win on the road as the Aggies don’t have a great record but have hung tough against some elite competition.
This spread could be slight either way and the game should be competitive.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, January 8, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. ET at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.
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Odds at BookMaker.eu
South Carolina is 10-3 straight up and 5-6 against the spread. The Gamecocks have gone on the road twice this year and have split those while attempting to cover. South Carolina has been favored in seven games this season, covering three of them. It has been the underdog four times and is 2-2 against the spread when getting points.
Texas A&M is 8-5 straight up and 5-6 against the spread. The Aggies have played six games at home on the season and have covered in three of them. Texas A&M has been favored in nine of the 11 games that have featured a spread, covering in five of them. They failed to cover in their two games as the underdog.
Key Stat
Four. Losses to teams that have been ranked this season for Texas A&M. The Aggies tested themselves in the non-conference slate, falling by two points to USC, seven to UCLA, four to Arizona and were blown out by Kentucky.
The Aggies beat Virginia Tech but are otherwise short on impact wins. They will have some tough battles within the SEC and want to pile up the victories. This would be a good one to grab because while Georgia isn’t a great team, it has played pretty well and has the talent to make this a competitive matchup.
Reinstatement Update
South Carolina gets a huge boost with the reinstatement of leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell. He helped lead the team to a 7-0 start, including wins over ranked opponents Michigan and Syracuse in the same week, but was suspended for six games for violating athletic department policy.
Thornwell is averaging 18.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists on the season. The Gamecocks went 3-3 in his absence and he will help them in this one and his return should affect the betting line.
Thornwell is shooting 47.7 percent from the field and a sparkling 48.3 percent from three-point range. That’s far above his career rate so the number should come down, but the Aggies will still need to respect his range.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
South Carolina has been the more impressive team, but Texas A&M has enough talent to feel good about its chances in this one. Kentucky is the clear favorite in the conference once again but beyond Florida there is a lot of parity.
Both of these teams could use this victory in their quest for a March Madness berth. The return of Thornwell is a nice boost, but he may be rusty in his return to action.
The home court advantage is key in this one as the Aggies should use it to squeak out a close win. Texas A&M needs to start getting on a roll and this will be a good start in that direction.
College Basketball Odds: Texas A&M 71, South Carolina 67
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