Oakland won the Summit League and the Golden Grizzlies plan to win this West Region opener against Texas as well.
Texas is favored by 10 points as the 4 seed against No. 13 Oakland. But the Lansing Michigan school doesn't think 13 will be unlucky the day after St. Patrick's Day..
The Longhorns sport records of 27-7 and a superb 20-8 ATS heading into this battle, while the Grizzlies are 25-9. But Texas has endured lots of March Madness heartache in the past and they are trendy pick to falter here.
View Oakland vs Texas Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with Texas in this one will find them as 11-point favorites. Get the best underdog line on Oakland at Sportsbook today.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
According to new college basketball power rankings here, it's the No. 1-ranked Longhorns and the No. 105-rated Grizzlies in this matchup. Computer formulas aimed at predicting NCAAB scores point to a 88-84 win for the Longhorns on Friday.
Computer bracket picks and ATS betting picks on every game - they play each 50,000 times and give you the best probabilities - check it out.
How They Match Up:
Rebounding is always a key handicapping consideration and Grizzlies is ranked No. 15 in NCAA hoops at 39 per game. Contrast that with Texas’s No. 6 mark in the paint. When it comes to three-point shooting, Texas is the No. 225-ranked team in the country at 5.7 per game, while Oakland rates No. 18 at 8.2 per game.
Defensively, Oakland features the nation's No. 320-rated defense on the road, allowing 79.1 points per game. Texas, meanwhile, comes in at No. 50 nationally in scoring at home.
Oakland won its last outing, a 90-76 result against Oral Roberts on March 8. They covered in that game as a 5-point favorite.
Texas was an 85-73 loser in their most recent outing against Kansas. They failed to cover the 4.5–point spread as underdogs.
Texas Longhorns Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
After playing Kansas are 8-2
After a loss are 8-2
A few Grizzlies at Longhorns trends to consider:
Texas is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Texas's last 16 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 6 games
