Sean Miller’s Arizona Wildcats have a few more games left before they begin PAC-12 play and a couple more big opponents left on their schedule. That will give them a few more chances to patch together an impressive non-conference resume and potentially boost the perceived strength of the PAC-12. One of those chances will come on Saturday afternoon when Arizona heads west to take on the Texas A&M Aggies of the SEC.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from the Toyota Center at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 17, 2016. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN2. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
The Wildcats best non-conference wins so far were against one of Texas A&M’s conference rivals, Missouri, and Michigan State. Arizona had chances to add to that list with games against Butler and Gonzaga but lost to both teams in neutral site contests. All told, the Wildcats are 5-5 ATS on the season, but have covered three of their last four.
As for the Aggies, they have had no luck taking on other PAC-12 foes so far this season. Texas A&M has dropped games to both UCLA and USC and its only decent non-conference win was against Virginia Tech. The Aggies are 4-3 ATS on the season, but failed to cover both games against PAC-12 teams.
Player to Watch
There’s no doubt who Arizona relies on most. Lauri Markkanen leads the team in scoring and rebounding this season despite being a freshman. The Finnish sensation has had a standout debut and is a lock to go in the first round of the NBA Draft next year.
Markkanen is averaging 16.8 PPG and 7.1 RPG and has been an extraordinarily efficient shooter. The big man is hitting 51.9 percent of his shots from the floor and the overwhelming majority of those have been away from the basket. He is deadly from beyond the arc too, knocking down 47.7 percent of his threes on the year. Markkanen makes this team a threat to beat anyone with his size and range and should only get better.
Key Stat
Texas A&M has been horrid behind the arc this year. The Aggies are hitting less than 30 percent of their three-pointers and that inability to hit from distance killed this team against UCLA. If the Aggies had been able to knock down shots from range, they could have defeated the Bruins a couple weeks ago, but instead became just another victim. DJ Hogg was the biggest culprit on the night for Texas A&M, going 0-8 from downtown.
It doesn’t help matters that the Aggies are also one of the worst teams in the nation at defending the trey. Texas A&M has allowed teams to hit 37 percent of their threes on the season and although that hasn’t hurt them greatly in the win-loss column, that could be a dagger in this one. Markkanen is fantastic from range and is a tough match for any team already, let alone for one that struggles to stop the three.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Arizona has had one of the better defenses in basketball this season. The Wildcats have allowed opponents to score just 62.8 PPG and they are outrebounding the opposition by a little over 10 boards a game. That defense has been remarkably consistent as well, with no team scoring more than 69 points on Arizona yet this year.
For Texas A&M to win this game, the Aggies will need some fantastic performances. Hogg or another Aggie needs to step up and be able to consistently knock them down from three and someone needs to shut down Markkanen. Otherwise, it will be all Arizona in this one.
College Basketball Odds: Arizona 79, Texas A&M 67
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