The New Mexico State Aggies come into the NCAA Tournament on an absolute tear that includes a WAC championship win, a regular-season championship and a run that’s seen them win 15 of their last 17 games. The competition is about to heat up, however, as they’ll face the ACC’s Clemson Tigers, who are coming off a loss in the ACC semifinals vs Virginia.
- Clemson is 4-1 ATS in its last five games as a favorite.
- New Mexico State is 0-8 SU and 2-6 ATS in March Madness since 1999.
- Clemson is 7-2 SU in its last nine games after a loss.
The No. 5-seeded Tigers will be looking to make some noise in March Madness as they’re coming off their best regular season of the decade. They’ll also be looking to shed the image of just being a football school, which is hard to do when you only have one NCAA Tournament win in 20 years (in 2011 vs UAB). Despite the strong regular season, there’s some red flags for Clemson, most notably a 3-5 SU record over its last eight games.
As for No. 12 New Mexico State, its calling card is defense. The Aggies have allowed just 63.79 points per game this season, which is good enough for ninth-best in the nation. They’ve held opponents to a 39.25 field-goal percentage, while five of their last six wins have been by double digits. If you believe in the old adage that defense wins championships, then the Aggies certainly make a strong case as one of 2018’s Cinderella candidates.
The total for the game opened at 133.5 and if recent results are any indication, the OVER might be the way to go as New Mexico’s last three games have had an average combined score of 153.3.
New Mexico State Aggies vs Clemson Tigers Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Clemson Tigers battle the New Mexico State Aggies, currently sitting with a 28-5 mark (10-3-1 ATS). The OVER/UNDER records, always important for totals betting, are 15-13-1 for the Tigers and 5-9 for the Aggies.
This college basketball game matches up the No. 135 (Clemson) and the No. 42 (New Mexico State) teams in the league, according to our current NCAA basketball power rankings.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively, the game matches up Clemson's No. 147 nationally ranked offense (73.28 points per game) against a New Mexico State defense that sits as the No. 9 at 63.79 PPG. The Tigers have been averaging 45.3% from the field, less than the Aggies have managed so far this season (45.98% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
New Mexico State got 21 points from Zach Lofton en route to a 72-58 victory over Grand Canyon on Saturday at Orleans Arena.
Clemson suffered a 64-58 loss against Virginia on Friday, getting 18 points from Shelton Mitchell in a losing effort at Barclays Center.
