New Mexico State Aggies vs. Auburn Tigers 3/21/19, Prediction & Odds

Aggies vs. Tigers Prediction

The first game of the Midwest Region will take place this afternoon as the fifth-seeded Auburn Tigers take on the 12th-seeded New Mexico State Lobos. Will an upset happen or is Auburn bound for the round of 32?

Game Snapshot

781 New Mexico State vs. 782 Auburn Tigers

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Vivint Smart Home Arena at 1:30PM ET

TV: TNT

Compare odds from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our College Basketball Odds & Betting Page.

 

Public Betting Information

According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Tigers are a 5.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 146 points. As of Thursday morning, 52 percent of public bets are siding with New Mexico State. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for up-to-date info.

Aggies hammer Antelopes

New Mexico State won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday night with an 89-57 victory to clinch the automatic bid. The Aggies (30-4) led 41-30 at halftime and continued to pull away after the break. New Mexico State shot 33-of-65 from the floor, 17-of-39 from 3-point distance and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Trevelin Queen paced the Aggies with 27 points off the bench on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor including 6-of-11 from 3-point range plus 3-of-3 at the free throw line. He also notched four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Ivan Aurrecoechea contributed 16 points and seven boards as a reserve. Clayton Henry added 14 points in 14 minutes.

Tigers crush Vols in SEC title game

Auburn clinched an automatic bid Sunday with an 84-64 win over Tennessee to improve to 26-9 on the season. The Tigers jumped out to a 32-23 halftime advantage and continued to pull away after the break. Bryce Brown led Auburn with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting including 5-of-10 from 3-point distance plus 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. He also accounted for two assists and two steals. Chuma Okeke notched 18 points, 13 caroms and three steals. Danjel Purifoy added 10 points, two rebounds and two steals off the bench. Auburn shot 26-of-64 from the floor, 15-of-40 from 3-point distance plus 17-of-21 from the free throw line.

College Basketball Betting Trends

New Mexico State

The Aggies are 5-2 ATS in their last seven non-conference games. New Mexico State is 1-5 ATS in its last six NCAA Tournament games.

Auburn

The Tigers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven Thursday games. Auburn is 5-1 ATS in its last six games overall.

Prediction:

Auburn has been rolling with eight straight up wins in a row including two over Tennessee, propelling it to a five seed. While the Aggies have had an outstanding season, I think their run ends here at the hands of Auburn. New Mexico State has struggled in recent NCAA Tournament appearances and it seems the step up in competition is often too much for it to handle. The Tigers are particularly good offensively as they are eighth nationally in adjusted efficiency, which should lead to easy baskets against an occasionally leaky NMSU defense.

 

NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: AUBURN TIGERS -5.5