Sport: College HoopsPick Selection: (731) Maryland Terrapins +3.5 -110
(731) Maryland Terrapins at (732) Miami Hurricanes 2:00 PM ET
(731) Maryland Terrapins +3.5 -110
***ACC Game of the Year*** You have to love what Miami did on Wednesday night against Duke but it almost got away. The Hurricanes built a 20-point lead and had to hang on with some late, clutch free throw to seal the win. Nonetheless, it was the first time that Miami has ever defeated Duke and it was by far the biggest victory of the season and could go down as one of the bigger ones in program history. That means it is letdown time and with a tough opponent coming to Coral Gables, the Hurricanes could be in for a rude awakening.
Maryland is coming off a home loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday which snapped a three-game home winning streak. The Terrapins are comfortable taking it to the road however as they are 4-2 in true road games this season including that monumental win over North Carolina back on January 19th. It took Maryland a while to get going as it started the season 6-6 but since then, the Terrapins have gone 11-4 with a loss at Duke being the only defeat by double digits.
Defense has been a constant for the Terrapins this season. Maryland leads the ACC and is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, as the Terrapins have limited their opponents to just 39 percent shooting from the field. They have held each of their last 39 opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field which is the longest active streak in the ACC. This is a pretty important stat considering that Miami shot 57 percent against Duke and still almost lost. Don?t expect a repeat performance on offense like that here.
Maryland?s dark horse shot at the ACC regular-season title is over, but the Terrapins can make a run at an advantageous seeding in the NCAA and ACC tournaments. They have a dead even scoring margin on the road but are +7.4 percent in shooting margin which is a huge disparity for road games. Over the last five games, Maryland is +6.9 percent in shooting margin while Miami is -0.4 percent and this is with the +11.9 percent in shooting margin against Duke.
Maryland is a big bounce back team as it is 10-3 ATS in its last 13 games following a loss. In true road games this season, the Terrapins are a perfect 6-0 ATS and they are 10-0 ATS in true road games dating back to last season. Maryland handles top teams well as it is 19-7 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last two seasons. Miami is 4-12 ATS in home games against teams shooting 45 percent or better and allowing 42 percent or lower. Exceptional line value here. Play (731) Maryland Terrapins 5 Units
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