Maryland vs. Minnesota Pick
Will No. 22 Maryland be able to stay atop the Big Ten when it hits the road to face Minnesota today at 2:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Minnesota is favored at home today, as the Gophers are getting odds of -4.5 points against the Terrapins. The over/under total is listed at 134 points. Maryland has won and covered the spread in three of its last four meetings with the Gophers.
Maryland is on a nice won, winning five straight and nine of their last 10 to get to 18-2 on the season and 6-1 in the Big Ten. The Terps have also covered in five straight and are now 10-6-2 against the spread on the season, including an impressive 6-0-1 mark ATS on the road. Maryland averages just 74.3 points per game on offense while holding teams to 66.2 on defense. Melo Trimble is leading Maryland with 17.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season. Anthony Cowan is adding 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
After an impressive start to the season, Minnesota has now lost four straight to drop to 15-6 on the season and 3-5 in the Big Ten. The Gophers are 1-3 against the spread during this losing streak and now 11-8 ATS on the season. Minnesota has similar numbers to Maryland, as it also averaging 74.3 points per game on offense while giving up 66.9 on defense. At home, the Gophers manage to jump their scoring average up to 79.1. Nate Mason is leading the team with 14 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while Amir Coffey is adding 12.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest.
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Maryland is the hot team right now and it certainly makes sense to pick them, but Minnesota is desperate. The Gophers can’t afford another big loss at home if it hopes to put together a resume for March. Minnesota has played the good teams tough at home and with Maryland not having an offense that should run away from anyone, I expect the Gophers to grind out the win and cover today.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA -4.5