College Basketball Betting: Maryland at Indiana
A battle in the Big Ten between Top 25 teams is the main event of the college basketball schedule on Thursday night. Maryland, playing their first season in the conference and ranked 13th in the country, travels to historic Assembly Hall to face No. 23 Indiana with first place in the standings up for grabs. The Terps are tied with Wisconsin atop the heap, while the Hoosiers sit a half game back. Maryland hasn’t tussled with a Top 25 opponent since its December 3rd home defeat to Virginia. Indiana’s sole home loss came on November 24th to of all teams, Eastern Washington. Both the Terps and Hoosiers appear to be tourney bound, so this one has the makings of a back-and-forth affair. Here’s a preview and prediction.
MARYLAND AT INDIANA +1
More so than in recent years, freshman phenoms are spearheading the charge for several of the nation’s best teams. The Terrapins boast a trio of double-digit scorers, none better than freshman guard Melo Trimble, who is netting 16.1 points per game. Six players have bombed at least a dozen three-pointers, led by Trimble’s 34. Trimble is also knocking down an impressive 88.4% of his free throws. Don’t expect a lot of crisp passes and pick and rolls, because the Terps are all about cranking shots from all over the floor. However, they haven’t allowed more than 66 points since falling to the Cavaliers and are yielding only 27.9% shooting from beyond the arc. The last three conference road tilts are revealing: overtime win against Michigan State, loss to Illinois, and a struggle to put away Purdue. This will mark their toughest Big Ten competition yet.
The Hoosiers have one the country’s most balanced offenses. Three starters average double-digits in points and nine players average at least ten minutes per outing. They can shoot, score, distribute, and crash the glass. The backcourt duo of Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. is savvy and explosive. On the flipside, the roster as a whole isn’t especially gifted on defense, having allowed 88 or more points in three of four losses. Head coach Tom Crean prefers a quicker pace and is fully aware his smallish lineup will have trouble matching up in the half court. They average 81.6 points per game, but Maryland has yet to give up more than 80 in any game thus far. Assembly Hall is still one of the toughest places to play, so a rabid student body should be ready to raise the decibel level.
Maryland is 4-1 ATS on the road. Indiana is 6-6 ATS at home overall, but 5-1 ATS in its last six. Home court advantage can’t be overlooked in what is basically a pick’em.
Bet Indiana +1
