Maryland vs. Alabama prediction and odds for NCAA Tournament Second Round

No. 1 Alabama cruised to victory in their Round of 64 matchup with No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but if you had bet on Alabama to cover the spread, you suffered an all-time heartbreak.

Meanwhile, Maryland erased a double-digit deficit in the first half against West Virginia, and then stormed back to narrowly get the win in one of the most exciting games on Thursday. The Terps won by a final score of 67-65.

Now, The Terapins have to face the No. 1 overall seed in the country. Do they have a shot at pulling off the upset, or at least covering the spread? Let’s dive into the odds and then I’ll give you my best bet.

Maryland vs. Alabama odds, spread, and total

Maryland vs. Alabama prediction and pick

From a stylistic perspective, I think Maryland is going to cause some issues for Alabama. We all know the Crimson Tide loves to shoot the three ball, but that’s going to feed right into Maryland’s defensive strength.

Heading into the tournament, Maryland ranked 76th in the country in opponent three point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting just 32.2% from beyond the arc. Also, only 26.3% of the points scored against Maryland this season comes from two-point range, which is the 36th fewest in college basketball.

Alabama also has a common problem with Arizona, which cost the Wildcats in the Round of 64. That problem is turnovers. Alabama ranks 237th in turnovers per possession, which may come back to haunt them at some point this tournament.

I don’t know if Maryland can pull off this upset, but I certainly think they can cover the spread in this one.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.