Following a home win over Florida Gulf Coast, the Aggies will hit the road for their first true road game of the season, taking on the Sun Devils in Tempe.
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HOW THE TEXAS A&M AGGIES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Syracuse handed the Aggies their first loss of the season on November 27, either SU or ATS. They rebounded in their last game, beating Florida Gulf Coast 75-65.
The Aggies shooting percentage gives the team an advantage against most of their opponents. The team is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent behind the arc, leading to 82.8 PPG ranking them No. 48 in the nation.
The Aggies have a veteran team with senior guard Alex Caruso back in the fold. The guard led the SEC a season ago in assists with 4.5 per game and has 3.9 per game through eight games this year.
As for scoring, Daniel House is back after leading the team with 14.8 points per game last year. He’s continued to play well with 16 PPG in the early going to lead the squad. Right behind him is veteran guard Jalen Jones with a career best 15 PPG.
Of course, in addition to the experienced players, the Aggies pull it together with a great recruiting class featuring four top-100 players and led by freshman Tyler Davis. The 6’10” center gives the team some height along with second year center Tonny Trocha-Morelos whose taken a big step forward with additional playing time, scoring 10.8 PPG after putting up just 1.5 last year.
As for Davis, he’s third on the team in scoring with 12 PPG and first in rebounds with 6.1, just ahead of Jones and Trocha-Morelos. He’s also the team leader in blocks averaging one per game.
The blocks and rebounds have helped the defense, holding opponents to just 64 PPG while Davis helps give the team a nice balance of youth and athleticism along with experience.
As for their opponent, the Aggies are playing a team that kicked off their season with a loss to the Sacramento State Hornets of the Big Sky Conference.
HOW THE ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
While Caruso is back for the Aggies and handling the ball well once again, he’s seen his scoring drop to just five points per game after topping nine each of the last two years. He’s showing just 42.1 percent from the floor and 9.1 percent from three-point range.
With his shooting issues, that opens the door for the Sun Devils to cover the spread on Saturday.
After losing to Sacramento State, the Sun Devils rebounded to win five of their next six games SU and four of them ATS, including a win over North Carolina State. Most recently, they beat Creighton 79-77 on Wednesday, shooting 51.7 percent from the floor.
In the win, Arizona State got 23-points from Savon Goodman. Goodman leads the Sun Devils in scoring, but has just 13.9 PPG as the team thrives on a deep roster that has eight different players averaging at least 6.6 PPG.
Of course, Goodman is shooting 63.5 percent from the floor, taking all his shots in the paint. He provides the team a nice inside presence and, if they can continue to get him shots like they did on Wednesday, they could have a decent shot, even against the likes of the Aggies.
ANAYLSIS AN PREDICTION
I look for the Sun Devils to keep the game close at home. They’ve been able to beat some strong competitors, particularly Creighton, but I look for their shooting percentage to drop against Texas A&M.
The Aggies have a strong defense that should be able to limit ASU’s shots. I don’t look for the Sun Devils to be able to shoot over 50 percent from the floor again as they’re averaging 43.9 percent. They’re also prone to low percentage shots behind the arc and are converting at only a 29.6 percent clip from three-point range.
Still, Arizona State has shown fortitude since its disappointing season opener, but the Aggies have too much talent and experience for them to overcome.
Texas A&M 78, Arizona State 73
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