OK, so I'm planning on heading down to the Alamodome to watch Texas A&M and Memphis practice tomorrow. I don't really expect to glean much info from the actual practices, but I want to check out the overall demeanor of the players from both schools. Just saw Douglas-Roberts on the local news and he appeared to be in good spirits and said he would be ready to go on Thursday. That said, I'd like to see him walking around, see his demeanor, anything to get a feel for how comfortable he is... I'll check in tomorrow (later today) with some notes...
EDIT: Without Douglas-Roberts, I think A&M at -3 is an absolute steal. At -3, I really like it too, but I want to see anyway. If he DOES play and isn't 100%, that could be the best possible scenario for A&M backers.
Something is real fishy with this line for A&M to open at -2.5 and now at -3.
1) This team is clearly better than Memphis in many ways
A) Defense
B) Coaching
C) Quality of competition
D) Conference affiliation
E) Better players all around
F) Free throw shooting
2) Intangibles for TXAM
A) Playing in the state of Texas
B) Having played a tougher two games in the opening
round
3) Intangibles for Memphis
A) More tournament experience
B) Long winning streak
All this being the case, the line seems ridiculously low. If they had played this game in Alaska, A&M would still be the favorite let alone in Texas. Now, to top it off, A&M has become a huge public play and the line is barely budging.
Something just does not seem right here. Either this is too easy or a big sucker play. I for one plan on passing on this game and wish the rest of you the best of luck on this play regardless of who you take.