On Friday, all of DFW will be in the zone for critical fire danger. In North Texas, crews that were deployed to help with the historic Los Angeles fires are drawing from their experience there.

The Krum Fire Department in Denton County deployed two firefighters for more than two weeks to assist with the Palisades and Eaton fires in L.A. While the landscape in North Texas is different, officials say one lesson stands out: high winds can change everything in an instant.

Krum Fire Captain Hector Hernandez was on the ground for 18 days. What he witnessed will stay with him for some time.

“Kind of seeing fire behavior coming off the Pacific like that, interesting just seeing the kind of damage it can do in such a short amount of time,” he said.

Hernandez especially remembers how the Los Angeles fires were fueled by dry conditions and very strong winds.

“The more wind we get, the more favorable it’s going to be for fire conditions. So that little spark you have from your welder can take off into a grass fire in no time,” he said. “Once it finds what it likes in terms of fuel, wind conditions, humidity, there’s not a lot we can do on the ground to stop it.”

Michelle Mendoza knows all too well how quickly life can change from shifting winds. She lived with her husband and eight children in Altadena when the fires broke out.

“I think it took probably about six hours, and then my house was completely destroyed,” she said.

The family of 10 is now in neighboring Pasadena, crammed into a one-bedroom apartment. Mendoza also remembers how powerful the winds were just hours before the fires spread, and she had this message for North Texas.

“It was very windy. It was some branches all over the place,” Mendoza said. “The winds were traveling really far. So, it’s something not to be played with. So, if you do see the winds, try to be really on alert.”

Hernandez said he’s hoping for the best, but Krum and neighboring departments are prepared.

“You kind of look at the direction that the fire is burning in and try to find any natural barriers, whether it’s a body of water, roadways, major highways, see if that’s a major point to stop it at,” he said.

Hernandez said if natural barriers don’t work, the next step would be getting ahead of the fire and starting to dig dozer lines.

Old friends Texas (18-14, 7-12) and Texas A&M (22-9, 11-7) square off on the hardwood this afternoon in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

The Longhorns surprised Vanderbilt in the opening round yesterday winning 79-72. Texas jumped the Commodores early leading 41-26 at the half. Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark each scored 19 points in the win for Texas.

The Aggies last laced up their shoes on Saturday handling LSU, 66-52. It was their second straight win after four consecutive losses.

These teams split the season series with each school defending their home court. Texas won in their most recent meeting, 70-69.

Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Game details & how to watch Texas vs. Texas A&M

• Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
• Time: 3:30PM EST
• Site: Bridgestone Arena
• City: Nashville, TN
• Network/Streaming: SEC Network

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.

Game odds for Texas vs. Texas A&M

The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM:

• Odds: Texas Longhorns (+220), Texas A&M Aggies (-275)
• Spread: Aggies -6.5

• Total: 138.5 points

Expert picks & predictions for Texas vs. Texas A&M

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Longhorns vs. Aggies game:

• Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on Texas A&M on the Moneyline.
• Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Texas A&M -6.5.
• Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 138.5.

Texas vs. Texas A&M: Top betting trends and recent stats

• Texas is just 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 games (14-16-1 for the season)
• Texas is 9-1 to the OVER in their last 10 games
• Texas A&M is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games (16-13-2 for the season)
• Texas A&M is 5-5 to the OVER in their last 10 games

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!

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· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)

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· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)

· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)