Texas A&M closed out the regular season and conference tourney looking like one of the best teams in the nation. Before its SEC Championship game loss to Alabama on Sunday, the Aggies won and covered 10 of 11 games. Texas &M has the better defense, allowing 40% shooting and is the better free-throw shooting team. Texas A&M gets the win. Play the money line.

The nightcap for Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament should be a fantastic game between Penn State and Texas A&M. The Nittany Lions ended the season with eight victories in their final 10 games, and they pushed Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament final. As great as that finish was, Texas A&M has been the stronger team and has the determination after being left out of last year's tournament. Buy the bargain price here on the Aggies.

Our SportslineAI model has this line set exactly at Penn State +3 and that's good enough for me to root for the underdog. Senior Guard Jalen Pickett is averaging 18.1 Points, 7.4 Rebounds, and 6.8 Assists. Anybody putting up those type of numbers I am rolling with. Hear more on Early Edge in 5 today at 4 pm ET.

Penn State put up an admirable fight against Purdue in the Big Ten title game. This is a scrappy, tough team. Look for them to put up another impressive showing against Texas A&M. My model has the Nittany Lions covering the spread in 68% of its simulations. Penn State on the spread.

Texas A&M got snubbed last year and had to watch the NCAA Tournament. I like the Aggies to make a statement here and cover versus an admirable Penn State team that will be bothered by Texas A&M's length and physicality. The Aggies hold opponents to 32.3 percent from deep, and the Nittany Lions are not going to score much inside. Look for Wade Taylor IV (16.5 ppg, 87.5 FT percentage) to penetrate and get to the foul line, and back Buzz Williams' team to improve to 11-2 ATS in its last 13 games.