Sam Houston State Bearkats vs New Mexico State Aggies Prediction, 1/2/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Sam Houston State Bearkats vs New Mexico State Aggies

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025

Location: Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM

TV: ESPN+

The Sam Houston State Bearkats (7-6) are hitting the road to Pan American Center on Thursday where they will take on the New Mexico State Aggies (7-6).

The Sam Houston State Bearkats played Dallas College and took home the win by a score of 111-65 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Bearkats ended up walking away with 14 and Dallas College accounted for 12 personal fouls. They knocked down 10 of their 26 tries from beyond the arc. Dallas College finished shooting 90.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 9 of their 10 attempts. On top of that, Dallas College had 22 boards (5 offensive, 17 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Dallas College earned 12 assists and had 4 steals in this contest. In the matter of defense, Sam Houston State let their opponent shoot 38.3% from the field on 23 of 60 shooting. They also doled out 16 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and having 12 steals. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 40 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Bearkats converted 18 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 81.8%. Sam Houston State ended the contest having earned a 59.4% FG percentage (41 out of 69) and made 11 out of their 23 3-point shots.

Cameron Huefner is someone who was a major contributor for this contest. He finished the contest at 71.4% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He was on the court for 25 mins and snagged 8 boards. He ended up finishing with 20 points on 5 of 7 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks

Sam Houston State comes into this contest with a record of 7-6 on the campaign. They are averaging 81.2 points per contest (67th in college hoops) while hitting 47.1% from the floor. The Bearkats are shooting 40.2% on 3-pointers (121 of 301) and 68.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Sam Houston State is collecting 36.5 boards per game and has accounted for 195 dimes so far this year, which ranks 136th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.3 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Bearkats are able to force 14.0 turnovers per game while drawing 17.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 314th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 205 surrendered on the year. The Bearkats defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.3% (361 of 780) and they surrender 34.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 36.9% on 3-point shots and they are 329th in D-1 in opponents points per game (78.2).

The last time they took the hardwood, the New Mexico State Aggies went home victorious with a score of 85-52 against University of the Southwest. When talking about attacking the glass, New Mexico State allowed University of the Southwest to pull down 32 in all (11 on the offensive glass). They finished 16.7% from distance by going 3 of 18 and ended up shooting 13 of 16 at the free throw line (81.3%). The Aggies allowed University of the Southwest to bury 18 out of 58 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 31.0% in the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Aggies went 32 out of 59 from the field which gave them a rate of 54.2%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, New Mexico State buried 13 of 28 tries (46.4%). They were able to knock down 8 of the free throws for a percentage of 47.1%. University of the Southwest committed 17 fouls for this game which took the Aggies to the charity stripe for a total of 17 shots. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 8 steals for this contest. The Aggies were able to corral 24 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 33 in the game.

Christian Cook was important for the Aggies for this contest. He converted 4 of 8 in the game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and tallied 4 rebounds. He racked up 11 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in this contest.

New Mexico State has a win-loss mark of 7-6 for the season. The Aggies commit 21.2 fouls every game and they connect on 66.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.8 times per game (274th in college) and they are giving up possession 13.7 times per game. New Mexico State has accumulated 969 points so far this year (74.5 per game) and they grab 40.1 boards per contest. As an offense, the Aggies are connecting on 43.3% from the field, which is 264th in D-1.

The Aggies are ranked 159th in college in points given up per game with 70.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.1% from the field (36th in college). The New Mexico State defense allows 30.4% on 3-pointers (93 of 306) and opponents are making 68.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 13.1 assists and 35.1 rebounds per game, which is ranked 189th and 221st in college.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Mexico State

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here