Something wicked awaits Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa, and it appears the Aggies are, and have been (see the lead-in note on their below capsule), very well aware of these issues.
Namely, Alabama boasts the most-efficient offense in the land, with an adjusted rating of 126.5 by stats guru Ken Pomeroy (KenPom). Purdue (125.4), Connecticut (124.1), Arizona (122.5) and Baylor (122.4) round out that top five.
The other part of that equation is how fast the Tide operates, as only Kennesaw State (14.1) and Maryland-Baltimore County (14.3) have less average possession lengths than Alabama’s 14.5 seconds.
Good luck, A&M.
Texas A&M (15-9 SU, 11-13 ATS) vs. Alabama (17-7, 15-9) tips off at noon ET Saturday on ESPN.
Texas A&M vs. Alabama odds: Point spread, moneyline, total
Here are the latest college basketball betting odds for Texas A&M vs. Alabama:
Texas A&M betting news: Aggies coming off bad loss at Vandy
Anyone thinking the Aggies were not concerned about this particular game need only glance at what transpired Tuesday evening, when lowly Vanderbilt smacked A&M in Nashville.
Yes, it was only by a point, 74-73. But Vandy had truly fallen into the basement of the Southeastern Conference, flirting with bottom-feeder national status, by having lost nine of their previous 10, 13 of 15 and 16 of 19.
At the time of that tilt, KenPom had the Commodores rated 198th on his big chart of the country’s 362 Division-I programs. The Aggies were No. 39.
The truths of this particular game lie with Alabama’s incredibly talented offensive attack, which we detail below. A&M is average defending the 3-point shot and above average inside the arc.
But Bama trumps everything that A&M could do very well, and the Tide just happens to be one of the country’s best 2-point-shooting teams.
On offense, A&M — at 27.7%, or No. 352 in the game — is treacherous beyond the arc, and poor (47.9%, 275th) inside it. At the line, it’s in the bottom third of the nation at 70.3%.
Guards Wade Taylor IV (19.8 ppg, 3.7 apg) and Tyrece Radford (15.1 ppg), and forward Henry Coleman II (10.1 ppg) would be stout in a three-on-three competition, but this is five-on-five big boy stuff.
Related: Best college basketball betting sites | Latest sportsbook promos and bonuses
Alabama betting news: Tide have covered ATS in 10 of last 13
When the holidays arrived, the Tide shifted into fifth gear and have won 11 of 13 games. It’s been an impressive stretch, as it has tallied 111, 101 82, 93, 79, 109, 85, 99, 81 and 109 points.
Alabama clobbered LSU, 109-92, last Saturday and has had an entire week to rest.
That span included a 10-3 run against the spread, and nine of those sessions finished over their projected totals.
And we’ve delayed an introduction to Mark Sears way too long. The 6-1 senior guard hails from Muscle Shoals, Ala., whose rich musical history and significance is decades old, and spent his first two seasons at Ohio.
He has been superb, enough to rank seventh on KenPom’s player-of-the-year chart. He has scored at least 20 points in seven consecutive games, and in 10 of Bama’s past 11—a stretch in which he has averaged 21.2 points.
In that run, he’s nailed 69 of 74 free throws. That’s the type of concentration we prize, and Sears is the type of cog who can lead a squad to the Final Four.
Fellow guard Aaron Estrada, a 6-3 senior from New Jersey who counts Saint Peter’s, Oregon and Hofstra on his well-traveled passport, complements the seasoned Tide backcourt with 6-3 senior Latrell Wrightsell.
The post is manned by 6-11 senior Grant Nelson and 6-6 sophomore Rylan Griffen. Overall, nationally, Bama is 13th in both 2-point shooting (57.1%) and beyond the arc (38.2%), an inside-outside combination no other team can match.
That it makes 79.5% of its freebies, as a team, just adds to the sting of playing this dangerous team. In fact, this deep dive compels me to run out and firm up my Final Four and title futures positions on the Crimson Tide.
Looking forward: March Madness betting apps and promos | College hoops conference title futures
Texas A&M vs. Alabama prediction
Alabama belted A&M, 82-63, in the business portion of last season’s SEC tourney, inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and we see this game duplicating that one.
Pick: Crimson Tide