Vegas Play of the Day: Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, March 23, 2015 | 12:34 p.m.

The focus on the college basketball postseason moves onward in the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point and $10,000 starting bankrolls.

Only now, the betting falls to the NIT — at least for the next few days before the Sweet 16 commences.

Texas A&M minus-3.5 vs. Louisiana Tech: $220 to win $200

Louisiana Tech can play with almost anyone in the country — at home. The Bulldogs aren’t the same away from the Thomas Assembly Center, with some of the most drastic splits out of any team still playing.

It’s caught up to them on the betting line. They’re 1-5 against the spread in their last six games at either neutral sites or on the road.

The issues make minus-3.5 a bargain on Texas A&M, which has contrariwise gone 10-5 against the spread at Reed Arena. The Aggies crumbled toward the end of the season, losing three of four to squander an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Teams usually respond one of two ways to such a late-year collapse: They either dwell on missed opportunities or draw motivation from falling short of their goals. In the opening NIT game, Texas A&M looked like the latter.

The Aggies never let Montana in the game, cruising to an 81-64 victory as 10-point favorites. Even if letdown is in store for Texas A&M, it’s got the benefit of playing at home.

That’s usually been enough playing against Louisiana Tech.

Standings: Keefer (71-69-2, $11,107), Bern (69-64-1, $9,706), Brewer (62-75-3, $2,805)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.