Texas A&M vs. Yale: 2025 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks

by BettingPros Staff |
Mar 16, 2025

The 2025 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first-round 2025 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our top picks and predictions for Texas A&M vs. Yale.

2025 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks: Texas A&M vs. Yale

Let’s dive into our top picks and predictions for this opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup.

2025 NCAA Tournament Preview: Texas A&M vs. Yale

Texas A&M 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

The Texas A&M Aggies enter the tournament with high-minute continuity from the team that took Houston to overtime in the second round of the Big Dance a year ago. Buzz Williams’ veteran group is defined by its aggressive, physical style and its elite ability to dominate the “extras” — particularly offensive rebounding. The Aggies boast the nation’s most potent offensive rebounding attack, creating second and third opportunities at an unparalleled rate while drawing fouls at one of the highest clips in America.

Dynamic guard Wade Taylor IV orchestrates the offense as the team’s leader, excelling in isolation and pick-and-roll situations while taking care of the basketball. The emergence of SMU transfer Zhuric Phelps provides additional scoring punch while lifting up the Aggies’ defense.

On that side of the ball, the Aggies are a suffocating presence, employing a switching, compact scheme that forces difficult jumpers over the top while taking away the paint. The relentless rebounding group of Andersson Garcia, Henry Coleman III, and Solomon Washington ensures few second-chance opportunities for opponents.

Texas A&M’s weaknesses are perimeter defense and pure shooting. The Aggies manufacture plenty of shot volume, but those shots have to go in to count. They rank outside the top 300 in effective field goal percentage and allow over 38% of opponent points to come from deep. Perimeter shooting can be volatile in any given game, but that can work against the Aggies too, They could be vulnerable if they face a physical rebounding team that can limit their second-chance looks.

Williams' squad also notably ranks outside the top 330 in Haslametrics' away-from-home metric, so the neutral court has not been friendly to them. The Aggies are 2-5 over their last seven games. This is a team that gives itself a high floor with all of its shot attempts; it's the ceiling that's the question.

Yale 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

Yale earned their auto-bid after cruising through the Ivy League, suffering just one loss in conference all year. Their perimeter shooting is elite, they take care of the ball, and the Ivy rep in the tournament always seems like a tough out come March. Three different players average double-digit scoring and the highlight is John Poulakidas. Few players have better ball control than the 6-6 forward and he's a capable microwave from deep. Their outside-in defense allows few attempts near the hoop with a top-100 near-proximity percentage. Samson Aletan is an effective shot blocker and Nick Townsend is a do it all frontcourt piece that elevates this offense.

Their defense is what leaves more to be desired. They rank outside the top 100 and don't force many turnovers while allowing 40 percent of opponent points to come from deep. This allows volatile scoring against them and sunk them in a lot of non-conference games.

Which is another concern. In non-conference games, Yale's efficiency drops further with a sub-150 ranked defense. I'm not sure if their defense will cause any issues in the opening round as a relatively straightforward team to prepare for. But the Ivy has surprised before and Yale is coming off a tournament win only a year ago. They'll compete with anyone and everyone, it's just a matter of their ability to string wins together that seems unlikely.

2025 NCAA Tournament Predictions: Texas A&M vs. Yale

A year ago, Yale pulled off a first-round upset of Auburn as a No. 13 seed. Well, the Ivy League champs are back again and facing another SEC opponent in a 4 vs 13 matchup. The Bulldogs are live to bust brackets for a second straight NCAA Tournament. They're shooting 38.5% from three-point range (9th in Division I) and still have the veteran core from last year's squad, led by seniors John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng. Texas A&M, meanwhile, comes in a bit cold after going one-and-done in the SEC Tournament and losing five of its last seven games.

The Aggies boast a top-10 defense in the sport but have some serious question marks offensively. They rank 317th nationally in three-point shooting and 249th in offensive turnover rate. A&M is very vulnerable if it finds itself in a close game, and Yale can make it sweat - especially with the confidence of knowing it can win outright like last season.

2025 NCAA Tournament Picks: Texas A&M vs. Yale

Bet: Yale +7.5 (-114 via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Check out all of our 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket & Betting Coverage >>

2025 NCAA Tournament Sports Betting Picks

For those looking to place bets on the matchups, let's take a look at the early odds and picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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