The 2nd Round of the NCAA tournament takes place today and we will see the New Mexico State Aggies take on the St Louis Billikens. The game is scheduled for a 2:10 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on TNT. Currently the Odds for the game have St Louis favored by 9.5 points while the total sits at 122.
Analysis: New Mexico State is the No. 13 seed after winning the Western Athletic Conference tournament for the second straight year. After limping to a 6-8 start which include an embarrassing conference opening loss to Texas-Arlington, the Aggies went on a tear, winning 15 of their final 17 regular season games including an 18 point shellacking of Tech. State then roared through the WAC tournament, eventually avenging the 21-point, conference-opening loss by punting the Mavericks in the conference title game. New Mexico State has been without senior forward Tyrone Watson, who missed four games with an injured ankle after returning from a 30-day suspension stemming from an arrest. Bhullar had back-to-back double-doubles and was named the WAC tournament MVP after averaging 12.3 points and 10.7 rebounds. The 7-5 center is shooting 62.3 percent and has a school-record 82 blocks. Bhullar, who moved into the starting lineup in December when junior Tshilidzi Nephawe was lost to an injury, has the ability to change games on either end of the court. The Aggies, who lost to Indiana in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament, have a balanced offense behind sophomore guard Daniel Mullings (14 points) and senior forward Bandja Sy (11.7).
The fourth-seeded Billikens learned their fate at a Best Buy store in Secaucus, N.J., mere hours after winning their first Atlantic 10 tournament title in Brooklyn. Saint Louis is 24-3 since coach Rick Majerus passed away in December. The veteran Billikens used a balanced offense and disciplined defense to run through the A-10 and earn the program's highest NCAA Tournament seed. Junior forward Dwayne Evans gives Saint Louis its own strong presence under the basket. Evans is averaging 13.6 points on 53.3 percent shooting and reeling in 7.7 rebounds for the Billikens, who beat Memphis in last year's NCAA Tournament opener before losing to Michigan State. The Billikens' relentless defense led the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (58.1 points) and was second in turnover margin (plus-3.8). "Rick's footprint and fingerprints, his lessons, are embedded into those guys," interim coach Jim Crews said after they won the title. "His wisdom is embedded into those guys, which is pretty cool." Saint Louis senior G Kwamain Mitchell, who is averaging 10 points, broke his foot in a preseason practice and missed the first 11 games.
Pick: I really like the Billikens in this one. St Louis has the feel of a team that could make a deep run in the tournament and I do not feel that the Aggies have what it takes to stand in their way in this one. St Louis was a mediocre 3-3 when Rick Majerus passed away, but since then they have gone 24-3, winning both the A-10 regular season and the A-10 Tournament. The Billikens have also played well away from home, going 10-4 in all those games. St Louis beat Butler and VCU in back to back a-10 Tourney games and hat is much more impressive than the Aggies 3 wins vs Idaho, Texas State and Texas Arlington in their conference tourney. Yes the Aggies have won 18 of their last 20 games, but they also played a weaker schedule than St Louis and other than Denver they haven't really played a team with a defense this good. That St Louis defense is on fire right now as they have allowed 58 points or less in their last 6 non-OT games and that gives them a huge edge over an Aggie squad that has allowed 69.1 ppg away from home. Look for St Louis to continue to roll as they take this one by 13+, behind another stellar defensive effort.
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College Basketball Free Picks: New Mexico State vs St Louis
What college basketball bettors need to know about New Mexico State Aggies vs St Louis Billikens on Thursday (3/21/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Scott Spreitzer, with Marco D'angelo and Ken Thomson.