The champion of the 2022 NIT will be crowned on Thursday when the Xavier Musketeers square off against the Texas A&M Aggies in the championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Musketeers (22-13), under interim coach Jonas Hayes, have made an unlikely run to the title game. They lost eight of their final 10 games prior to the NIT. Meanwhile the Aggies (27-12) have won 11 of their last 12 games. 

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Aggies are favored by 4.5 points in the latest Texas A&M vs. Xavier odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Over/Under for total points scored is 137.5. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

Before making any Xavier vs. Texas A&M picks or NIT predictions, be sure to check out what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The model knows that Texas A&M is playing its best basketball of the season. After losing eight consecutive games and nine of 10 during conference play, the Aggies have reeled off 10 wins in their last 11 games, including wins over Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas. Their only loss during that stretch came when they played their fourth game in four days in the SEC Tournament title game.

The model also knows that Jack Nunge is one of the best players in the Big East. The 7-foot junior transfer from Iowa leads the team in scoring (13.4 points per game) and blocks (1.4 per game) and ranks second in rebounding (7.3 per game). For his efforts this season he earned all-Big East honorable mention honors.

Now, the model has set its sights on the NIT title game and Texas A&M vs. Xavier. We can tell you it is leaning Over the total, predicting a combined 140 points, and it also says one side of the spread covers in almost 70 percent of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Texas A&M vs. Xavier? And which side of the spread covers in almost 70 percent of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Xavier vs. Texas A&M spread you should be all over Thursday, all from the model on a roll on college basketball picks!