After plenty of upsets in the first day of the Round of 64, no such madness found its way in the Midwest this time around. No. 4 Maryland eked out a close win against feisty Valparaiso, while No. 5 West Virginia weathered a late storm from Buffalo. The two wins set up an intriguing Round of 32 matchup.
Will the savvy veterans of West Virginia cool down Maryland’s star freshman Melo Trimble? Read on as we give you everything you need to know heading into this game.
Speaking of talented freshmen, Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns are back in action in the Round of 32. Check out how they match up against their opponents with our complete previews for Arizona vs. Ohio State and Kentucky vs. Cincinnati.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 4 Maryland Terrapins vs. No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers Preview
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
When: Sunday, March 22, 8:40 PM ET
Line: No. 4 Maryland Terrapins (pk) vs. No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers (pk); total 137.5 – view all March Madness lines
Betting on the Maryland Terrapins
Maryland survived quite a scare in the Round of 64 as Valparaiso mounted a spirited comeback attempt. But senior Dez Wells converted an offensive board into a three-point play. It was just his third rebound of the game. Then, Evan Smotrycz stripped the ball away to seal the nerve-wracking 65-62 win for Maryland.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Wells was highly efficient in this game, scoring 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. He had plenty of help from ultra-talented freshman Melo Trimble. Trimble, who’s averaging a team-best 16.3 PPG, finished with 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting (3-of-6 from beyond the arc). He had a couple of key steals as well.
Trimble could catch fire from three-point range in this game. He’s made an average of 3.7 three-pointers over his last four games on 52 percent shooting. West Virginia has a leaky three-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 36 percent from deep (278th in the nation).
If the Mountaineers clamp down on Trimble, then the doors may open for Jared Nickens and Jake Layman to hit their shots from downtown. Nickens nailed a season-high matching four three-pointers against Valparaiso, while Layman has shot 37 percent from beyond the arc this season.
The Terps have won nine of their last 10 games, going 6-3-1 against the spread.
Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia welcomed back seniors Gary Browne and Juwan Staten after their respective absences due to injury. While Browne shot a measly 1-of-4 from the field for five points, Staten was in top shape finishing with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and seven assists to lead the Mountaineers to a tough 68-62 win over No. 12 Buffalo Friday.
But even with their top players returning, the Mountaineers had an unlikely hero in Tarik Phillip. On the court mostly for his defensive prowess, Phillip iced the game with a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining as the shot clock expired.
He finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. He also had three rebounds and one steal in just 15 minutes of action. Phillip is just one of seven Mountaineers averaging at least a steal per game this season. Expect Phillip to get his fair share of minutes matched up against Maryland’s Wells or Trimble.
Forward Devin Williams led the Mountaineers with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting and nine rebounds. He’s been the Mountaineers main man on offense with the absence of Staten. Williams is averaging 19 points in his last three games.
Williams, though, may struggle to get going in the paint matching up against Maryland’s 6’9” forward Damonte Dodd, who had four big blocks on Friday. As a whole, the Mountaineers are allowing opponents four blocks per game, 299th in the nation.
Nevertheless, West Virginia’s stable of guards should be mobile enough to frustrate Maryland’s defenders. The Mountaineers have excelled in drawing plenty of fouls. Opponents are committing fouls on 26.1 percent of their defensive plays against West Virginia, 46th in the nation.
Williams and Staten lead the Mountaineers in that regard. They’ve gotten their fair share of free throw attempts this season with 175 and 157 respectively. But they’re shooting just about 70 percent from the charity stripe.
West Virginia is 4-0 against the spread after a day of rest.
Writer’s Prediction
Maryland (pk) ekes out a tight win against West Virginia. Create a betting account now and get your fix of the Madness.
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