Maryland vs. Connecticut Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
It’s a matchup of at-large teams Saturday from the East Region of the NCAA Tournament as No. 10 Maryland faces No. 7 UConn on the campus of Purdue University. The Huskies are 3-point favourites on the college basketball odds with a total of 130.
Maryland Terrapins vs. Connecticut Huskies NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner will face either No. 2 Alabama (and be a betting underdog) or No. 15 Iona (and be a betting favourite) on Monday in the Round of 32. To win the East Region, UConn is +800 and Maryland +1400.
Since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams (now 68) in 1985, No. 7 seeds have won 60.7 per cent of their games vs. No. 10s. However, two years ago the No. 10 seeds won three of the four matchups for only the fifth time ever and first since 2010.
It’s the seventh all-time meeting between the Terps of the Big Ten and Huskies of the Big East, although both used to be in different conferences – Maryland in the ACC and UConn in the AAC; Connecticut returned to the Big East this year. The Terps are 4-3 in the series and won the last meeting in December 2016 by 12 points at a neutral site.
Maryland is 2-7 against the spread in its past nine NCAA Tournament games, while UConn is 16-5 ATS in its past 21.
(10) Maryland Terrapins
Maryland (16-13) is one of a handful of teams in the Big Dance with a losing regular-season conference record as the Terps were 9-11 in the Big Ten. They might not have gotten a bid or perhaps been in the First Four without a 68-57 win over Michigan State in their first Big Ten Tournament game (Sparty ended up in the First Four) before then losing to Michigan. It’s the 29th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for Maryland, which is 42-27 in it and has won 13 of its past 14 opening-round games. The team’s best all-around player is likely guard Darryl Morsell even though he averages just 9.0 points per game. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Guards Eric Ayala (14.9 ppg) and Aaron Wiggins (14.0 ppg) lead the team in scoring.
(7) Connecticut Huskies
The Huskies (15-7) closed the season winning five of six, but losing by three points in the Big East Tournament semifinals to a good Creighton team. Guard James Bouknight is one of the Big East’s best players and is averaging 19.0 points and 5.7 rebounds; he missed a handful of games earlier in the year injured and UConn really struggled. Second-leading scorer RJ Cole is in concussion protocol after being hurt vs. Creighton and is in question for Round 1. That UConn is opening on Saturday instead of Friday obviously helps. He averages 12.3 points and 4.4 assists. It’s UConn’s 34th NCAA Tournament appearance but first since 2016. The school has won four national titles, including the lone time it was a No. 7 seed in 2014.
