Maryland vs. Alabama Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The Tide are 5.5-point favourites on the college basketball odds with a total of 138.5.
Maryland Terrapins vs. Alabama Crimson Tide NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner will face either No. 14 Abilene Christian or No. 11 UCLA in the Sweet 16.
It’s the fifth all-time meeting between these schools – of course, Maryland used to be in the ACC. The Terps lead 4-1 and won the most recent matchup, 58-57 in the 2013 NIT quarterfinals. That’s the only post-season meeting in the series. Maryland was in the ACC then.
There is one link between the programs and that’s Terps forward Galin Smith. He played three seasons at Alabama before leaving last summer as a graduate transfer. He averages 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in about 14 minutes per game.
Maryland is 3-7 against the spread in its past 10 NCAA Tournament games. Alabama is 0-5 ATS in its past five Big Dance games as a favourite.
Maryland Terrapins
Maryland (17-13) upset No. 7 UConn 63-54 in the first round, a rare bit of good news for the struggling Big Ten. The Terps were outrebounded 40-29 but held the Huskies to 32.3 per cent shooting (lowest allowed by Maryland in the NCAA Tournament since 2001) while hitting 51.2 per cent from the field themselves. Eric Ayala led with 23 points. He needs 19 points to become the 58th player in Maryland history to reach 1,000 career points. Aaron Wiggins had 14 points and Donta Scott 12 for Maryland, which improved to a stellar 26-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament opening-round games. The Terps are looking for their 15th Sweet 16 appearance in school history and first as a double-digit seed since 1994 when they were also 10th seeds. Maryland is 3-7 ATS in its past 10 after a win.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama (25-6), the SEC regular-season and tournament champion, won its seventh in a row Saturday, 68-55 over No. 15 Iona. Herb Jones, the SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, led the Tide with 20 points and keyed a 11-0 second-half run that put his team in control. Alabama’s 25 wins are two shy of a school record. The Tide are now 20-20 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and a win here would send them to their first Sweet 16 since 2004.
Bama leads the country with 325 made three-pointers this season, 10 from breaking the school record set a year ago. Coach Nate Oats was without freshman Josh Primo in the first round due to injury, and he’s not likely to be ready Monday but should be if the Tide advance. The Toronto native and graduate of Royal Crown Academic School averages 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds.
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