Texas - New Mexico State Preview

Texas (4) Vs. New Mexico State (13)
Friday, 3/16 @ 7:25
Betting Line From Bookmaker: Texas -8

The Texas Longhorns (24- 9, 12- 4 Big 12) finished in third place in their conference and lost in the conference final to Kansas 84- 88. The New Mexico State Aggies (25- 8, 11- 5 WAC) finished second and then beat Utah State 72- 70 in their tournament.

The Longhorns amazing freshman swingman Kevin Durant (25.6 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 1.3 APG) may be the best player in college basketball. Along with playing great offense, Durant is tough on “D,” averaging almost 2 blocks and 2 steals per game. Freshman guard D.J. Augustin (14.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 6.7 APG) hits threes 46% of the time. He’s also a great set-up artist on offense. There’s one senior on this team, two juniors and the rest are sophomores and freshmen. Four of the five starters are freshmen, with the other being a sophomore. Talent and youth abound on this club.

The Aggies are best in an up tempo game but they can also get sloppy on offense when pushing their speed. Junior forward Justin Hawkins (15.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG) leads the team in points and rebounds. Senior guard Elijah Ingram (10.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.5 APG) at 43% is the best three-point shooter on New Mexico State. The bench is solid and deep.

For the Aggies, the big question is how to shut down Durant? And then after that, how to shut down everyone else? It’s New Mexico’s solid veteran squad against the talented young guns of Texas.

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