Friday’s first-round sport between the No. 11 New Mexico Lobos and No. 6 Clemson Tigers may be a bracket-breaker — besides that many brackets most likely picked New Mexico to win it.
The lower-seeded Lobos are favored within the odds and by our staff, with our Bracket Breaker specialists saying a New Mexico win shouldn’t be thought-about an upset. And but right here we’re: New Mexico is the decrease seed, however Clemson is the (slight) odds underdog.
So, let’s dig into the small print on every staff, plus the sport odds and workers picks for New Mexico vs. Clemson. We’ve additionally bought a projection for the purpose unfold, which is nearer than you would possibly suppose. (So perhaps it is going to break some brackets in any case.)
Our sport previews are a collaborative effort between The Athletic workers, The Subject of 68 and Brad Evans’ The Gaming Juice.
No. 11 New Mexico Lobos
Strengths: New Mexico performs quick (prime 10 in adjusted tempo per KenPom), nevertheless it takes care of the ball (prime 20 in offensive turnover price) and includes a frontcourt in Nelly Junior Joseph and JT Toppin that hits the offensive glass. The Lobos are gifted sufficient to play with virtually anybody.
Weaknesses: The Lobos wanted game-winning pictures to beat UT Arlington and New Mexico State and are 4-3 in video games determined by a basket. In the event that they shot higher from the perimeter (33.4 p.c from 3), they’d blow out groups.
Outlook: Solely Kentucky’s backcourt options two faster, extra explosive gamers. Jaelen Home — a 6-foot senior who shrugged off accidents in the beginning of the season — is the guts and soul of the staff. His manufacturing (16.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.3 spg) is down from earlier years, however he’s a dynamic offensive participant and a pest on protection. Donovan Dent, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, can rating (14.3 ppg) and end (three game-winning pictures this season). They’re able to carrying the Lobos to 2 wins and the second week.
—Mike Miller
No. 6 Clemson Tigers
The Tigers can battle anybody for 40 minutes. However how a lot is left within the tank?
Strengths: Like Brad Brownell’s greatest staff at Clemson — the 2017-18 squad that reached the Candy 16 — these Tigers can rebound, and that trait could be an equalizer, as bona fide contenders like North Carolina and Alabama realized through the common season. Ian Schieffelin (9.6 rebounds per sport through the common season) and PJ Corridor (6.8) set the tone on the glass, and Chase Hunter and Joseph Girard III make up a veteran beginning backcourt.
Weaknesses: After Corridor, the Tigers’ main scorer and versatile man within the center, the Tigers don’t have a surplus of offensive choices — though Girard is rarely too far-off from a sizzling streak from deep. In the event that they run into an opponent with a bombs-away method, as Boston School introduced in an ACC tourney blowout upset, conserving tempo is not any assure. Is the truth that Clemson is 0-5 in video games determined by three factors or fewer since mid-December a product of dangerous luck … or a harbinger of March heartbreak?
Outlook: Clemson’s nightmare 3-5 January dropped it off the nationwide radar, however the staff that recovered within the ensuing six weeks to safe a bid appears like one you don’t have to fret about no-showing — no less than, it did, till final week’s early ACC Match exit. Do the Tigers do something nicely sufficient (moreover make their free throws, at a sterling 79.0 p.c clip) to speak anybody into predicting a deep run?
—Eric Single
Find out how to watch New Mexico vs. Clemson
What: West Area, First Spherical
Tipoff time: 3:10 p.m. ET Friday
TV: truTV
Location: Memphis
New Mexico vs. Clemson odds
Odds are from BetMGM and replace reside. Discover the perfect ticket offers on StubHub to see your favourite staff.
Knowledgeable picks
Austin Mock’s mannequin projection: New Mexico by 1, complete 149
See Austin Mock’s greatest futures bets.
Gamers to look at
New Mexico
Donovan Dent, sophomore guard, second-team All-MWC
JT Toppin, freshman ahead, second-team All-MWC
Jaelen Home, graduate guard, third-team All-MWC
Clemson
PJ Corridor, senior middle, first-team All-ACC
Extra NCAA males’s basketball match protection
(Photograph of JT Toppin: Ian Maule / Getty Photographs)