The Davidson Wildcats aim to bounce back from a narrow nonconference loss this week against San Francisco with an intriguing matchup early on Thursday. Davidson faces the New Mexico State Aggies in the opener of the 2021 Myrtle Beach Invitational. The matchup takes place at HTC Center in Conway, S.C., with the Wildcats entering this matchup with a 1-1 record. New Mexico State is 2-0 this season with both wins coming at home in Las Cruces.
Tipoff is at noon ET. The Wildcats are two-point favorites in the latest Davidson vs. New Mexico State odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The over-under for total points is set at 132.5. Before locking in any New Mexico State vs. Davison picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,100 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Davidson vs. New Mexico State and it just locked in its coveted picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see its picks. Now, here are several college basketball odds and betting lines for Davidson vs. New Mexico State:
- Davidson vs. New Mexico State spread: Davidson -2
- Davidson vs. New Mexico State over-under: 132.5 points
- Davidson vs. New Mexico State money line: Davidson -130, New Mexico State +110
- DAV: The Wildcats are 11-11-1 against the spread in the last 23 games
- NMSU: The Aggies are 7-12 against the spread in the last 19 games
Why Davidson can cover
Davidson has a pair of veterans to lead the offense in Foster Loyer and Hyungjung Lee. Loyer, a transfer guard from Michigan State, is leading the team with 17.0 points per game at this point in the season. Lee, a junior wing, averaged 13.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season and is putting up 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season. The Wildcats are also red-hot from 3-point range, making 51.4 percent of long-range attempts this season.
Overall, Davidson is fantastic on the offensive end, and New Mexico State has weaknesses on defense. The Aggies were outside the top 250 in the country last year in block rate (6.9 percent) and steal rate (7.3 percent), and New Mexico State was also outside the top 200 in free-throw prevention. New Mexico State also allowed opponents to shoot 50.5 percent on 2-point attempts last year, and Davidson is wildly efficient inside the arc.
Why New Mexico State can cover
The Aggies have intriguing offensive talent, headlined by Sir'Jabari Rice and Teddy Allen. Rice led the team in scoring last season, and he is averaging 13.5 points per game in the early going. Allen averaged 16.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game at Nebraska last season and is putting up 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds after transferring to New Mexico State. The Aggies are very good on the offensive glass, grabbing 34.3 percent of misses last season, and New Mexico State can benefit from a Davidson defense that ranked outside the top 300 nationally in turnover creation in 2020-21.
New Mexico State is also solid on defense, including a 31.8 percent mark allowed from 3-point range. Davidson relies on 3-point shooting at a high level, and the Wildcats are struggling at the free-throw line, both with accuracy and volume. Finally, the Aggies are above-average on the defensive glass, grabbing 73.5 percent of available rebounds, which should help them to close possessions.
How to make Davidson vs. New Mexico State picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, with 11 players projected to score at least seven points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in almost 70 percent of simulations. You can only see the model's Davidson vs. NMSU pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Davidson vs. New Mexico State? And which side of the spread hits in almost 70 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Davidson vs. New Mexico State spread you need to jump on Thursday, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
