Making sense of the Madness
Texas A&M is back in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season, entering the tournament as a 4 seed and taking on the 13 seed Yale Bulldogs on Thursday night. Here’s what you need to know about the matchup.
4 Texas A&M (22-10) vs 13 Yale (22-7)
NCAA Tournament 1st Round
- When: 6:25 p.m. Thursday, March 20
- Where: Ball Arena (Denver, CO)
- TV: TBS
- Streaming: March Madness Live (Live TV provider login required)
- Broadcast Crew: Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson
- Betting lines: A&M -7.5, O/U 139.5 (per FanDuel)
Prediction time
While Yale’s three-point shooting prowess gives reason for worry, their schedule is enough to make you question how worthwhile the rest of their metrics are (particularly on the rebounding front). Texas A&M rarely has “pretty” wins, and I think this game will be no different. A&M will out-physical the Bulldogs, get extra possessions from offensive rebounds and score a disproportionate amount of their points from the free throw line (i.e., the Aggies’ winning formula.
It won’t be smooth sailing, but A&M handles Yale and advances to the Round of 32, facing the winner of Michigan/UC-San Diego for a change to advance for the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018:
Score prediction: Aggies 72, Bulldogs 64
BTHO Yale!