Here we go! More March Madness is on tap tonight and the matchups we’ve all been waiting for are finally here!
At 9:40pm ET this evening, the Terps and Kansas go toe-to-toe to decide a seat in the Elite Eight. The two teams have shown numerous signs of brilliance throughout the early rounds of the tournament. Now they’ll tip off in what could be the tournaments biggest and best heavyweight matchup thus far.
For our full Oregon vs. Duke game preview with predictions and picks, click here.
For our full Kansas vs. Maryland previews, picks and predictions, click here.
March Madness News & Predictions
- 2016 March Madness Sleepers Predictions and Picks
- 2016 March Madness Longshots and Best Long Shots Picks and Predictions
- 2016 March Madness Preview
- 2016 NCAA March Madness Expert Picks
Best Games to Bet on Today: Maryland vs. Kansas & Duke vs. Oregon
Maryland vs. Kansas
Line: Maryland Terrapins (+6) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (-6); total (144.0) – View all NCAA lines here
Coming off a 73-60 win over #13 ranked Hawaii, the Terps look like a dangerous team. However, their first round was not as pretty. They narrowly took out South Dakota State 79-74, while only pulling down 26 rebounds and turning the ball over 13 times. Maryland is a solid team but are not favored in this game for good reason. Kansas is the best team in the tournament.
President Barack Obama picked the Jayhawks to win it all along with 25% of all ESPN brackets entered (roughly 3.3 million out of 13.2 million). The Jayhawks have looked strong all season. They also steamrolled teams through the Big 12 tournament to take the conference title. This game will come down to the offensive boards. Maryland has only shot 48.5% from the field in this tournament. If they can crash the offensive glass and keep the pressure on the Jayhawks, the best team in the tourney may show some cracks in their armor.
Writer’s Prediction
Maryland puts up a good fight. It won’t be enough though. Kansas wins 78-73.
Duke vs. Oregon
Line: Duke Blue Devils (+3.5) vs. Oregon Ducks (-3.5); total (156.5) – View all NCAA lines here
The Oregon Ducks are a mean looking bunch that just aren’t on most heavy hitter’s radars. It always seems to happen that the West Coast never really gets the love it deserves. Let me tell you though, the Oregon Ducks deserve some credit. Critics may say that they’ve had two fairly easy first and second round opponents. Nobody picked Holy Cross and St. Joseph’s to go that deep, which is a fair point. The Ducks dismantled HC by 39 and they took out the eighth seeded St. Joe’s by five. Prior to this tourney, they also took out the highly ranked Arizona Wildcats (95-89) and murdered heavyweight Utah 88-57 to win the Pac-12 title. That offense is hot when it wants to be!
Duke on the other hand, has shown a few signs of weakness. After taking out UNC Wilmington in the first round, the Blue Devils had some trouble with the Ivy League champion Yale Bulldogs. Duke needed some clutch (and lucky) shots down the stretch to keep up and eventually take down the Dogs. They only shot 46% from the field, while pulling down a mere 28 rebounds. If Duke wants to unseat the favorites in this matchup, they’ll have to be much better than that. They’ll need big man Marshall Plumlee to have another huge defensive game for them to survive the Ducks offensive threat.
Writer’s Prediction
Oregon moves on to the Elite Eight with an 82-72 win.
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