College basketball betting players figured that Texas would challenge for the Big 12 title, but they’ve fallen well off the pace, and they’re even behind their rivals from Texas A&M. Both play crucial midweek games before they clash in the basketball edition of the “Lone Star Showdown” on Saturday afternoon.

Texas vs Texas A&M odds – Saturday, February 27, 2:00 PM ET

The No.21 Longhorns (21-6, 7-5) escaped Texas Tech with a 71-67 win last weekend, but they needed to hold off a rally by the Red Raiders. Gary Johnson had a career-high with 22 points off the bench, while Damion James was held to 12 points, but he managed 10 rebounds. They were the only two Longhorns to reach double figures as Texas shot 40.3% from the field, but they did manage to outrebound the Red Raiders 43-26, including 17-4 on the offensive glass, and those second chances were the difference in this game for a floundering Texas team that is struggling just to stay above .500 in the Big 12. The Longhorns will host Oklahoma State, another 7-5 team, on Wednesday.

The No.23 Aggies (19-7, 8-4) bounced back from a tough loss against Kansas to beat Iowa State 60-56 on the road, led by 14 points from Khris Middleton and 12 points from Donald Sloan. The Aggies had a horrible night from the field, shooting 39.6%, but they also held the Cyclones to 32.2%, including 5-of-20 from beyond the arc. Bookmakers (bookmaker reviews) may have been worried that the Aggies were looking ahead to this week, and made them small favorites on the road against one of the Big 12’s worst teams. They wouldn’t have been blamed if they would have done this: the Aggies will head to Baylor, who are another 7-5 team in the conference, on Wednesday night.

The Aggies should be the favorites at home in this contest at Reed Arena, and the Longhorns have lost five straight in College Station. The Longhorns won a spirited 72-67 overtime win on January 16^th in Austin, and James was a beast with 26 points and 12 boards as he put the then-No.1 Longhorns on his back. It all went downhill for the Longhorns after that, as they’ve gone 4-6 in the 10 games since then. The problem with the Longhorns is their guard play, specifically the freshman trio of Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton and J’Covan Brown. When they’re good, they are really good, and the Longhorns usually roll. However, they’ve struggled lately, forcing too many bad shots, and outside of a couple of big performances, they haven’t been steady. Look for Texas A&M’s senior guards, Sloan and Derrick Roland, to put the shackles on the young Longhorns.

Bet college basketball: Texas A&M

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