Nebraska is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, still looking to win the program’s first game in March Madness. Texas A&M had a nerve-wracking selection show party waiting out an at-large bid and will now look to prove the selection committee made the right call to put them in.
The Aggies and Cornhuskers can score the basketball as well as any team in the tournament. Nebraska went 21-12 against the spread in the regular season, and Texas A&M went 16-18 ATS. With the way each team can score the basketball, it could come down to which team shoots a better percentage or pulls down a few offensive boards.
Here’s everything you need to know about betting on Nebraska vs. Texas A&M in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, including updated odds, trends and our prediction for this first-round game.
Nebraska vs. Texas A&M odds
Here are the latest college basketball betting odds for Nebraska vs. Texas A&M from the best U.S. online sports betting sites.
Like most 8-seed vs. 9-seed matchups, the spread is very close, and it would not be shocking if this became a pick’em leading up to tipoff. One thing is for sure with a point total set in the mid-140s: Oddsmakers expect this to be one of the highest-scoring games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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Three betting trends to watch
- In the last 10 games combined, the OVER for total points hit nine times for the Cornhuskers and Aggies.
- Nebraska finished the season playing well, winning seven of nine and covering the spread in each of their seven wins.
- After losing five straight, Texas A&M won five of their last six to fight their way back into the NCAA Tournament field. The Aggies covered the spread in each of those five wins, too.
Nebraska Cornhuskers key players
- Keisei Tominaga may be the best tough-shot maker in the nation. He can make logo threes while also hitting crazy off-balance shots. He leads Nebraska in scoring, averaging 14.9 PPG, and is efficient for a guard, shooting 56.8% from the field and 37.2% from three.
- Brice Williams, the Charlotte transfer, has had a big year for the Cornhuskers, giving Tominaga a good backcourt partner. The senior averages 13.1 PPG and is the team’s top three-point shooter, making 39.2% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
- Bradley transfer Rienk Mast has been a big addition — he is third on the team in scoring (12.5 PPG) and leads the team in rebounding (7.6 RPG).
Texas A&M Aggies key players
- Wade Taylor IV leads the Aggies in scoring with 18.9 PPG but puts up many of his points because of high volume. The junior guard only shoots 36.9% from the field and 31.5% from three. A high volume, low-efficiency night could be a problem for Texas A&M.
- Tyrece Radford is the only other double-digit scorer for the Aggies. Radford averages 16.0 PPG, but like Taylor he gets his buckets due to high shot volume. Radford is better at shooting 40.6% from the field than Taylor, but it is still not a good field goal percentage.
- Henry Coleman, the most efficient scorer for Texas A&M, averages 8.8 PPG, shooting 56.4% from the field.
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Best individual matchup: Wade Taylor IV vs. Keisei Tominaga
Taylor may average four more points per game than Tominaga, but he also has taken 179 more field goal attempts. Taylor could outscore Tominga by five points in the first round, but if it takes an extra 10 shots for him to do it, that could hurt Texas A&M more than help. Outscoring Tominga is not a given, either, as he has been playing his best basketball of the season, scoring 18, 23, 30 and 18 points over his last four games.
Nebraska vs. Texas A&M stat to know
The Cornhuskers shoot 45.2% from the field, and the Aggies shoot 39.9%. If the shooting numbers hold close to their averages, Texas A&M would have to win the rebound and turnover battle to keep it close with Nebraska. That will be a tough challenge for the Aggies, and it will be hard to make the efficiency differences against a team with no noticeable matchup edges.
More March Madness previews: New Mexico vs. Clemson odds | Michigan State vs. Mississippi State odds | Texas Tech vs. NC State odds | Oregon vs. South Carolina odds | Vermont vs. Duke odds | Kansas vs. Samford odds
Nebraska vs. Texas A&M prediction: Cornhuskers win first NCAA Tournament game in program history
Nebraska will finally break the streak and win its first NCAA Tournament game in its history. Nebraska scores much more efficiently and has a deeper group of capable scorers, with five players averaging double figures compared to just two for Texas A&M.
Prediction: Nebraska 76, Texas A&M 71. Nebraska (-1.5) covers the spread, with the game going OVER the total (145.5).
