NCAA Basketball Matchup: Duke vs. Maryland
Every time Duke travels to Maryland they know they are going to be in for a real test. The Maryland student section is always ready for this matchup. Duke has won nine of the last ten meetings between these two ACC rivals.
9:00 PM EST
College Basketball Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
NCAA Basketball Betting Favorite: Maryland +11
Over/Under: 149.5
Maryland has been much better since getting Alex Len back in the lineup. Duke has struggled on the road this year. Can Maryland make a game out of this one?
The Blue Devils are just 2-2 on the road, and their two wins were close wins over Georgia Tech and Clemson. Duke was blown away by Ohio State on the road and upset by Temple. Offensively, Duke has been very good this year. The Blue Devils rank tenth in the country in points per game at 80.5. Ryan Kelly, Austin Rivers Seth Curry, Tyler Thornton, and Andre Dawkins are all very good from beyond the arc. Duke knocks down 41% of their three-pointers as a team, which is good for ninth best in the nation. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Rivers is the team’s leading scorer at 14.4 points per game. Rivers has been a great scorer so far this year, but he is only averaging 1.8 assists per game. He needs to become more of a distributor. Duke struggles on the defensive end. The Blue Devils allow opponents to shoot 44.1% and score 69.2 points per contest.
Maryland has struggled with consistency this year. The Terrapins were beaten by 26 points on a neutral floor by Iona earlier this season. Lately, Maryland has been much more competitive. The Terrapins have benefited in a big way from the return of center Alex Len. Len gives the team a post presence on offense as well as a shot blocker on the defensive end. Terrell Stoglin has emerged as the team’s offensive leader. Stoglin has scored in double figures every game this year except for one. On the season he is averaging 21.2 points per game. Maryland is a good rebounding team, and they’ll need to hold their own on the glass in this one. Defensively, the Terrapins allow opponents to shoot 43.4% from the floor.
Maryland has been slowing the tempo down quite a bit of late, and I don’t think they’ll let Duke just run and gun in this game. I like the under in this one.
Prediction: Duke 76 Maryland 68
