Texas A&M will topple Tennessee as the Vols come down from their big win over Alabama

Good afternoon gamblers, it’s Chris Bengel arriving in your inbox on this Tuesday.

The NBA is still on a brief hiatus due to the All-Star Game, but we’ve still got plenty of college hoops to tide us over. For the first time in … I couldn’t even tell you how many years, I can honestly say that I don’t have the faintest clue who is winning it all. You could honestly make a case for as many as 10 teams and it probably wouldn’t be all that insane. After all, North Carolina began the season as the country’s No. 1 team and may not even make the NCAA Tournament. See where I’m going with this? Complete chaos.

Let’s not waste any more time and dive into Tuesday’s picks.

All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook

🔥 The Hot Ticket

No. 11 Tennessee at No. 25 Texas A&M, 7 p.m. | TV: ESPN

• Key Trend: The Aggies are 5-0 ATS in their last five games
• The Pick: Texas A&M -1.5 (-110)

It might seem a tad crazy to fade a team that just upset No. 1 Alabama last week, but that’s what we’re doing with Tennessee. Playing in a tough road environment on the heels of an emotional win isn’t exactly a recipe for success. 

The Aggies enter Tuesday’s contest riding a five-game winning streak, including going 5-0 ATS in each of those games. In fact, Texas A&M owns a 12-4 mark ATS when playing at home throughout the 2022-23 season. In the only other game they’ve played against a ranked team at home — No. 20 Missouri back on Jan. 11 — Texas A&M came away with a 82-64 win and easily covered the five-point spread.

Jonathan Coachman is joined by Martin W. Green, Allan Bell, Zack Cimini and Allie O’Neill to dish out Tuesday’s best bets. Download and follow The Early Edge on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  

Texas A&M relies on their offensive firepower to gain the upper hand on the opposition quite frequently. The Aggies are currently tied for third in the SEC in scoring with 74.3 points-per-game. In addition, this is one of the better perimeter-shooting teams in the conference. A trio of Aggies are shooting at least 34 percent from three, including leading scorer Wade Taylor IV. Taylor has been scoring the ball at will lately as he’s registered at least 21 points in three of his last four contests. Look for Taylor to pace Texas A&M and lead his squad to a resume-building victory.

💰 More CBB Picks

Texas Tech at Oklahoma, 9 p.m. | TV: ESPN2

The Pick: Over 135.0 (-110) — When you’ve got two of the top shooting teams in the Big 12 going head-to-head, the over is a no-brainer. The total isn’t quite as large as one would expect given these efficient offenses, but that could be due to the fact that both teams are hovering around .500.

Entering Tuesday, Texas Tech is playing some of its best basketball of the season. The Red Raiders are fresh off of wins over No. 6 Texas and No. 12 Kansas State and have won three in a row. If that weren’t impressive enough, Texas Tech is scoring 74.3 points-per-game over that stretch. On the other hand, aside from a 78-55 drubbing at the hands of No. 9 Kansas, Oklahoma has also had no problem scoring the basketball. Despite dropping three of their last four, the Sooners have scored at least 72 points in three of those four contests.

On the season, the Sooners are shooting 35.5 percent from three, which is good for third in the Big 12. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders are knocking down 34.2 percent of their three-point attempts (fifth in the Big 12). That has the makings of a back-and-forth affair and that should easily allow the over to cash for us.

Key Trend: The over is 15-6-1 in the Red Raiders’ last 22 games.

Villanova at No. 16 Xavier, 6:30 p.m. | TV: FS1

The Pick: Xavier -4.5 (-110) — It’s rare to see Villanova having a losing record as March approaches, but that’s the situation that the Wildcats find themselves in as they navigate their first season without Jay Wright on the sideline. Villanova has been the definition of inconsistent all season and struggled during the Big East portion of the schedule. That’s why I have no problem riding with Xavier in this spot.

Villanova owns a 4-6 record ATS over its last 10 games, including losing two of its last three ATS against Providence and Seton Hall. Xavier also got the better of Villanova earlier this season when they handed the Wildcats a 88-80 loss back on Jan. 7 and covered the two-point spread. 

The Musketeers have covered three of their last four games ATS and are coming off of a much-needed bounce-back win over DePaul after losing back-to-back games. Simply put, Xavier has the most dangerous offensive unit in the Big East. The Musketeers lead the conference in points-per-game (82.6) and three-point shooting (39.6 percent). Four players are shooting at least 40 percent from beyond the arc, including leading scorer Souley Boum (40.9 percent). Xavier should have no problem creating enough distance in this one.

Key Trend: The Wildcats are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning percentage above .600