The No. 12 seed New Mexico State Aggies (27-6) and No. 4 seed Arkansas Razorbacks (26-8) meet Saturday for a Midwest Region second-round game of the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the New Mexico State vs. Arkansas odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Aggies pulled off a 70-63 upset over UConn in the opening round, winning outright as 6-point underdogs as the Over connected. That’s four consecutive covers for New Mexico State.
The Razorbacks, a team that went to the Elite Eight last season, opened with a narrow 75-71 win over Vermont. The 13-seed Catamounts held on for the cover as 4.5-point underdogs. Arkansas cashed the Over, which is now a perfect 7-0 across the past seven outings for the Hogs.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
New Mexico State vs. Arkansas odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11 a.m. ET.
- Money line: New Mexico State +230 (bet $100 to win $230) | Arkansas -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): New Mexico State +6.5 (-110) | Arkansas -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 138.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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New Mexico State vs. Arkansas odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Arkansas 75, New Mexico State 62
Money line
Arkansas (-300) will cost you three times your potential return, and that’s just a little too expensive despite that the Razorbacks should be able to win this one handily.
PASS.
Against the spread
ARKANSAS -6.5 (-110) is an attractive play here, facing a second consecutive double-digit seed. While the Hogs struggled a bit with Vermont in the opening round it was largely because the Catamounts are a decent shooting team with a solid defense. There is a reason that line was just 4.5 points.
New Mexico State isn’t nearly as gifted offensively, although UConn might beg to differ. NMSU is solid defensively with a 39.2% opponents’ field-goal percentage. However, the Aggies do not have the offensive horses to hang with the Hogs.
Over/Under
The UNDER 138.5 (-110) is the play based on New Mexico State’s solid defensive effort overall on the season and its mediocre offensive showings.
The Under is 25-10 in the past 35 games for the Aggies as underdogs. While the Over has hit in seven in a row for Arkansas, all good things must come to an end. The Razorbacks may have issues against scoring against the solid D of the Aggies.
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