The Oregon Ducks and Maryland Terrapins will do battle in the Big Ten on Friday as both teams look for their first Big Ten victory. Both teams are 0-2 in conference play so far this season and are desperate to get into the win column to avoid falling further behind the leaders in the league. Here, I break down this matchup on Friday night and give you my Oregon vs Maryland prediction in college basketball.
Pick: | Oregon -2.5 |
Confidence: | 3/5 |
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Both Oregon and Maryland enter this Big Ten matchup with identical 7-6 records, though each has struggled against quality opposition. Oregon got an 80-57 win over Omaha in their last game, led by Nate Bittle’s offensive explosion and rim presence. Jackson Shelstad adds plenty of scoring as well, averaging 15.6 points per game and coming off a 23-point performance against Maryland last season.
The Ducks have performed well against smaller schools this season but they have struggled against power conference opponents and elite programs like Gonzaga. Maryland might not be in that top tier of college basketball programs, but the Ducks certainly have to raise their level of play if they want to avoid a third straight loss in Big Ten competition.
Maryland has faced a brutal schedule leading up to this contest with losses to strong squads like Virginia and Michigan, but the Terps snapped a three-game skid with a 73-58 win over Old Dominion. The Terps are solid at home, posting a 4-2 record there, and will rely on Pharrell Payne’s efficiency and David Coit’s ball distribution to keep pace.
Score Projection: Oregon 79 – Maryland 75
Win Probability: Oregon 58%, Maryland 42%
I am going to lay the poitns with Oregon in what should be a competitive game from College Park. The Ducks are just a bit more efficient on offense and should have the rebounding advantage in this matchup with Bittle to lead them on the glass. I'll go with Oregon to get into the win column in Big Ten play against a struggling Terrapins team.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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