No. 9 Maryland Looks To Extend Big Ten Lead vs Rutgers

Maryland is clinging to a one-game lead in the Big Ten, and after losing two of its last three games now has to travel to Rutgers. The Terrapins are 5-2 ATS in their last seven against the Scarlet Knights, but it’s hard to argue with them being underdogs against a Rutgers team that is 17-1 at home this season.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Rutgers opened as just a slight 1.5-point home favorite, despite having a stellar 17-1 home record. That’s because the Scarlet Knights are facing the nation’s ninth-ranked team, which already beat Rutgers earlier in the year. With both teams boasting top-40 defenses, and their last 10 meetings averaging 127 points per game, the total for Tuesday opened at 133 points.

Maryland News & Notes

Maryland is still sitting in first place in the Big Ten, but it is stumbling toward the Big Ten tourney — and the NCAA Tournament — in losing two of its last three games.

In a time of the season when the competition is going to only get tougher and tougher, the Terrapins lost to two ranked teams, at Ohio State and at home to Michigan State, and over their last six games are just 1-4-1 against the spread.

The biggest concern for Maryland, which currently sits 36th in the nation in allowing 63.8 points per game, is a defense that has yielded more than 74 points per contest over its last four.

The Terrapins’ trademark defense was on display, however, in their previous game against Rutgers, a 56-51 win at the beginning of February. But that was at home; this game is at Rutgers, and with a paltry 5-5 SU record on the road this year, Maryland will need to work hard to avoid its third loss in four games.

Rutgers News & Notes

The Scarlet Knights are about as Jekyll and Hyde as any team in college basketball: they’re 17-1 SU at home this season … but an unsightly 1-10 SU on the road and at neutral sites.

The good news for Rutgers is that it is playing at home on Tuesday against Maryland, which should give it a nice boost against a program that it has lost eight straight games against while covering the spread in just two of the last seven matchups.

Also working in the Scarlet Knights’ favor is that they may be dead last in the Big Ten in three-point shooting (30 percent), but Maryland has allowed opponents to hit more than 40 percent of their threes over the last three games — this could be the night for Rutgers to hit from long range.

Betting Pick: Rutgers -1.5

Rutgers has been a juggernaut at home, while Maryland has struggled on the road… and stumbled lately. In what’s expected to be a tight match, I’ll take the home team to cover.