Henry Roldán
In another second-round commitment that promises good defense this Saturday we will see the duel between New Mexico State and Arkansas. The Aggies come from giving a bell in the big dance by defeating in the first round the fifth seed of the West, UCONN, with a slate of 70-63. For its part, Arkansas will try to put aside the tough commitment it had against Vermont, which it won 75-71, and assert its status as favorite as the fourth seed.
Picks and Predictions for the New Mexico State Aggies vs Arkansas Razorbacks NCAA Basketball Championship Round 2 Game on March 19
- Where: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, New York
- When: Saturday, March 19, 8:40 PM ET
- Betting Line: New Mexico State Aggies (+6.5) vs Arkansas Razorbacks (-6.5)
New Mexico State Aggies Betting Preview
- Overall Record: 26-6
- Conference Record: 26-6
- Spread: +6.5
- Over/Under: Over 138
- Moneyline: +230
The Aggies surprised locals and strangers after taking their first March Madness victory since 1993 by defeating UCONN. The New Mexico State team had an incredible night on offense by shooting 65% from the three-point line and perfectly on the free throw line by making it 13 of 13. However, during the season this was not constant in the quintet that now faces a much more outstanding defense than that of the Huskies and that practically does not allow anything from the rivals from long distance.
For New Mexico State it is also important that Teddy Allen approaches his 37-point performance in the first round, since he does not have many other figures on the attack and proof of this is that the second best scorer of the team in the game was Jabari Rice, with nine points. If Arkansas can stop Allen, the Aggies’ chances are minimal.
Arkansas Razorbacks Betting Preview
- Overall Record: 25-8
- Conference Record: 13-6-1
- Spread: -6.5
- Over/Under: Over 138
- Moneyline: -280
While Arkansas’ reputation lies on the defensive side, the Razorbacks are also capable of scoring points and their 75 against Vermont proves it. In fact, Arkansas finished the regular season tied for third place in the SEC with 77.3 points per game, putting it in the Top 40 among the nation’s highest-scoring offenses. They are capable of shooting on average from long distance, but their strong point is the free throws, from where they conceded 20 of 25 against Vermont and that they will have to repeat against an Aggies defense that does not commit many fouls.
As for their defense, the Razorbacks kept seven league opponents under 60 points, held opposing teams to 40.9 percent overall and 32.2 percent from behind the arc. With another solid performance on Saturday, Arkansas has everything to win.
JefeBet Prediction
The Aggies had a great game against UCONN and will surely repeat against Arkansas. However, they lack that offensive consistency that is necessary to defeat good defenses in consecutive games and the Razorbacks have a very good defense. Also, Arkansas has a better offensive performance so I’m going with the Moneyline of the No. 4 seed in the Conference.
