This tournament is moving in a decided direction and it's damn chalky and I expect that the rest of the night. The more established programs, many of them with more seasoned players than ever with lingering Covid years are kicking ass. I'm kicking myself for not going big on Purdue and this is another elite team with a top seed for a reason with a Super Power - defensive acumen. Cougars will smother and frustrate and win this game by double digits the way so many pedigreed programs have in the last 48 hours. Oakland/Auburn and KY choke feels a long time ago.

We get the feeling that people are analyzing the wrong things when it comes to Texas A&M. Our recommendation is to dismiss most everything that happened before the past month, when a desperate Buzz Williams moved G Manny Obaseki from the sixth-man role into the starting lineup, where he has lent an undeniable spark. The Aggie mix has become far more combustible since, as A&M's new rapid-fire offense is scoring better than 90 ppg across the past five. Two wins over Kentucky and another over Tennessee suggest the Ags need to be taken seriously, as UH surely does after a narrow 70-66 win in mid-December at the NBA Rockets' Toyota Center. Play Texas A&M (NCAA at Memphis)

Texas A&M finished the season strong but the teams they beat aren't exactly the toughest in the NCAA. The Aggies beat Mississippi State, Georgia, Ole Miss twice and Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament. They went 6-1 ATS in their last seven but 17-18 ATS on the season. They lost 14 games. Houston has the No. 1 defense, allowing 37.8% shooting and the Cougars also had the top scoring defense, allowing 56 ppg. They lost only four games all season. Houston to cover.