Murray State vs. Texas A&M: How to watch, odds, predictions from ESPN, KenPom

The No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies will open their time at the Myrtle Beach Invitational by playing Murray State on Thursday. The Racers may have lost their head coach and plenty of production from 2021, but they’re still more than capable of becoming a thorn in the side of Buzz Williams’ ranked team.

With tipoff set for this afternoon, it’s time to dive deeper into this matchup between the SEC and the Missouri Valley.

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How to watch Murray State vs. Texas A&M

Tip-off: 4 p.m. EST

Location: The HTC Center (Conway, South Carolina)

Channel: ESPN2

Vegas odds

Texas A&M is a 12.5-point favorite over Murray State on Thursday according to VegasInsider. The over-under is set at 138.5 points.

ESPN BPI prediction

Predicted winner: Texas A&M

Predicted point differential: 10.4

Win probability (for Texas A&M): 83.4%

Matchup quality: 66.7

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI has Murray State vs. Texas A&M ranked as the seventh highest-rated game on Thursday’s slate in terms of matchup quality.

KenPom prediction

Predicted final score: Texas A&M 75, Murray State 65

Win probability (for Texas A&M): 82%

KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. Like ESPN, KenPom projects that the Aggies come away with a victory over the Racers.

More on Murray State vs. Texas A&M

Texas A&M enters the 2022 season with something to prove. After being left out of the NCAA Tournament a season ago with a 23-12 record, they have every intention of correcting that this time around. Buzz Williams’ teams are physical but, early on, they’re succeeding through guard play led by Wade Taylor IV, Wichita State transfer Dexter Dennis, Hayden Hefner, and Tyrece Radford. Still, they have more than enough power inside with Henry Coleman and Michigan State transfer Julius Marble.

As for Murray State, they have a bone to pick with the SEC. LSU pried Matt McMahon away from Murray, Kentucky after seven highly successful seasons. McMahon also took three of the program’s best pieces with him to Baton Rouge. KJ Williams, Justice Hill, and Trae Hannibal all hit the transfer portal after being three of the Racer’s Top-4 scorers a year ago.

Now, Steve Prohm has taken over the program again after leading them early in the 2010s. His team is led by an experienced trio of Queens transfer Jamari Smith, Stetson transfer Rob Perry, and DJ Burns. With those three averaging over 60% of the team’s scoring, them finding success against the Aggies will be key if they want to pull the upset today in Myrtle Beach.