Game Time: 7:00 PM  ET, Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022

Venue: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  Aggies -11.5; O/U 146.5

Caesars:  Spread: 

VegasInsider:  Spread: Aggies -12.5; O/U 146.5

WynnBet: Spread: NL 

Georgia: 1-13 in conference, 6-21 overall (SEC)

Texas A&M: 5-9 in conference, 16-11 overall (SEC)

This is an easy bet.  An SEC matchup between losing teams in the SEC.  Bottom of the barrel teams.  Last and least teams.  Teams where the mismatch between the worst team and the almost at the bottom team is still pretty big.  The Georgia Bulldogs are not good at basketball… it may not be their fault.  The school soaks up the sun in the SEC in football… sharing rays with Alabama, but pretty much no one else.  In basketball the athletic department may not care enough.  None of Georgia’s NIL money will be going to basketball when it has a chance to go to football…. None of Georgia’s love will go to basketball when it has a chance to moon over the students in shoulder pads.  Georgia is bad on the hardwood and even worse at loving the sport. Texas A&M is sort of, kind of, in the same boat.  Basketball takes a backseat to football with a lot of rows of seats between them.  The Athletic Director has water boys for the football team ahead of the head basketball coach on his speed dial.  College Station is filled with great fans of both sports, but football is what they both scream for.  So while neither team is good… Georgia is really bad. The betting opportunity here is obvious… BY HOW MUCH is the question everyone will ask about betting on Texas A&M.  The spread is the king in this battle… get that right and you get $$$.

The Georgia Bulldogs have won 1 of their last ten games while going 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  The Bulldogs are awful… so they are given GIANT point spreads when going up against any other SEC team… They have covered 15 pts against the Florida Gators, they covered 16 pts against the Auburn War Eagle, they covered 14.5 pts against the Alabama Crimson Tide.  Those are all usually spreads reserved for Sun Belt matchups… or Big Sky matchups coming to the SEC… not other SEC teams.  Georgia is bad.  They did lose ATS to the LSU Tigers while they were 16.5 pt underdogs… they did lose ATS to the Auburn War Eagle while they were 21.5 pt underdogs… they did lose ATS to the awful Arkansas Razorbacks while they were 10.5 pt underdogs.  The Georgia Bulldogs are bad.  It all starts with defense where Georgia is 343rd in the nation while giving up 77.7 ppg to opponents.  The team’s leading scorer Kario Oquendo gets 14.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg… while contributing nothing on defense. PG Aaron Cook transferred in from Gonzaga where he couldn’t find playing time… as the starter at Georgia he has committed 82 turnovers in 26 games… yes… 82 in 26.  We could forgive a Freshman for numbers like that… not a sixth year senior in his last year of eligibility.  The blame for all of this must fall on Head Coach Tom Crean… when a scholarship player commits 82 turnovers in 26 games… you are supposed to yank him from the lineup and replace him with the winner of “open tryouts” of anyone in the student body who can do better… I bet there are at least 7 former high school starting point guards at Georgia who are serious students and might like getting a spot on the team.  

The Texas A&M Aggies have won only 1 of their last ten games, going 5-5 ATS.  They also benefit from large point spreads as the underdog… but nowhere near as large as the Georgia point spreads.  Texas A&M lost 6’6 forward and Mississippi State transfer Jalen Johnson to a torn ACL before the season even started… except that can’t be the whole story since he has never played for A&M yet and was a 5 ppg guy at Miss St.  Leading scorer 6’5 guard Quenton Jackson is listed as a bench player and not a starter.  At 13.4 ppg he should not also have 57 turnovers in 27 games played.  6’7 Forward Henry Coleman III is a solid player at 10.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg with some steals and blocks and just above 1 turnover a game.  Henry Coleman III came over from Duke and is a sophomore… the team should feature him more (they could be trying) and build from there. The problem with Texas A&M basketball is they have never been committed to being known for a specific thing. UT focuses on getting and developing big men… Baylor works hard at having a guard dominated defensive identity… Houston tries to load up on high flyers… A&M should commit to being the Loyola Marymount of the SEC… seriously.  Commit to getting a shot up every 8-9 seconds of possession,,, recruit kids who can run and want to score 20 ppg at every position.  They have little to nothing already.  They might as well shoot for the most exciting team in Texas!  That would be something.  It also might get you some attention in a town that doesn’t notice whether or not you are there to begin with.  Hut Hut Hike.  

These are bad teams.  Both of them.  These are both winners of only 1 in their last 10 games.  This fact alone should shrink the spread.  A small or smallish spread will give us the green light to bet against Georgia… Let’s crunch the numbers and see if that is smart.

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Georgia is 6-21 on the season, but 9-17-1 ATS.  They have logged 15 Overs and 12 Unders.  They are 0-8 in road games… they simply have not won a road game.

The Aggies are 16-11 on the season, but 13-13 ATS.  They are 11-4 in home games.

Our prediction for Tuesday, February 22nd is…  Aggies 82 - Bulldogs 65

Seemingly everyone in the SEC scores against Georgia and Texas A & M… they should both be able to finally score on somebody when facing each other.  Georgia is 6 Overs and 4 Unders over their last ten games.  The O/U numbers in Georgia games are unnaturally high… still it hits often.  The safe bet is on the Aggies to Cover and the Over.  The spread will determine if the safe bet is the smart bet. 

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Georgia is 6 Overs, 0 Unders in road games when playing against marginal winning teams the last 3 seasons.

Georgia is 4-12 ATS after a game where they failed to cover the spread this season.

Texas A&M is 97-71 ATS in home games after 3 consecutive conference games since 1997.

Texas A&M is 17 Overs and 8 Unders in all games this season.

Georgia: T. McMillan (lower Body) Out ** P. Horne (knee) Out ** J. Ingram (knee) Out

A&M:  J. Johnson (knee) Out for season

Georgia: Kario Oquendo, Aaron Cook, Jaxson Etter, Noah Baumann, Braelen Bridges

A&M: Marcus Williams, Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon, Tyrece Radford, Javonte Brown

Georgia

Points: Kario Oquendo 14.4

Assists: Aaron Cook 5.6

Rebounds: Jailyn Ingram 6.0

Steals: Aaron Cook 1.2

Blocks: Kario Oquendo 0.5

Texas A&M

Points:  Quenton Jackson 13.4

Assists: Marcus Williams 3.4

Rebounds: Henry Coleman III 6.1

Steals: Andre Gordon 1.6

Blocks: Ethan Henderson 0.7

Georgia: Tom Crean

Texas A&M: Buzz Williams… The guy’s name is actually Brent Langdon Williams…. Because he looks like a big, fuzzy, honeybee… so everyone calls him “Buzz”.  I actually don’t know the origin of his nickname, he just really looks like that.