No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Xavier Preview
Where: Amway Center – Orlando, FL
When: Thursday, March 16, 2017 – 6:50 PM ET
Line: Maryland Terrapins (-2) vs. Xavier Musketeers (+2); total: 142.5 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
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Betting on the Maryland Terrapins (24-8, 12-6 Big Ten)
It hasn’t been a fun couple of weeks for the Terrapins, who have lost six of their last 10 (3-6-1 ATS) after starting out 20-2. In the recent defeat, Northwestern ousted them in the Big Ten quarterfinals, 72-64, as Bryant McIntosh, Scottie Lindsey, and Vic Law efficiently combined for 50 points and shot 17-for-29 from the floor.
Still, it’s probably good that Maryland’s overall rankings on certain stat categories are able to tell their abilities to do nice things offensively and defensively – 88th in threes, 45th in blocks, and 51st in allowed field goal percentage.
There is, however, some criticism on their overreliance with their explosive guard, Melo Trimble. The junior is unable to get quality help from his supporting cast – along with leading the team in scoring (17 PPG), he’s also top two in assists, steals, and threes. Further, the next three scorers of the team – Anthony Cowan, Justin Jackson, and Kevin Huerter – are only netting under 30 points and shooting under 43 percent together.
Betting on the Xavier Musketeers (21-13, 9-9 Big East)
Playing in one of their weirdest seasons yet, the Musketeers only landed a spot as an 11th-seed. The inconsistency was just too much, as they had six separate three-plus winning or losing streaks in only a 34-game span.
The one thing in this team that’s not inconsistent is the one-two punch of Trevon Blueitt (18.1 PPG) and JP Macura (14.5 PPG), two of the best shooting tandems in college basketball. The duo are sure to spread the floor all throughout Thursday’s contest and they should be able to do their thing against the 64th-ranked defense of Maryland.
Blueitt, as you may now, is a classic scorer that can get a shot off from anywhere. His junior season was highlighted by his 40-point performance in late January versus rival Cincinnati, where he hit nine of his 11 attempts from downtown in a losing effort. Macura, meanwhile, is just as dangerously streaky from beyond the arc, and he just had a team-leading 22 points and six threes against Creighton in the Big East tournament semis.
Joining them is emerging guard Malcolm Bernard, who’s been getting a ton of opportunities lately, particularly when starter Edmond Sumner went down with an ACL injury a little over a week ago. Bernard, a transferee from Florida A&M, has now played 30-plus minutes in six straight games, and has scored 12 or more points in four of those outings.
The Musketeers had a string of Ls towards the end of the regular season, but have since come alive to win three of their previous four (1-3 ATS). In that span, they are plus seven on points, shoot 47.3 percent from the field, and have held opponents to under 43 percent shooting thrice.
Writer’s Prediction
Xavier (+6.5) gets the win, 79-76.
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