Last Updated on March 19, 2010 7:12 pm by drew
Maryland-Houston Pick
The Maryland Terrapins will look to avoid an upset when they face the Houston Cougars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 9:40PM ET.
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These two teams will battle it out in the Midwest Region with their game taking place at Spokane Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington. Maryland is the No. 4 seed in the game and Houston is the No. 13 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL have made Maryland 9.5-point favorites over Houston on Friday night. The over/under for the game has been set at 157.
Maryland is making its 24th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Terrapins have played in three of the last four tournaments. The Terrapins are 23-8 on the season and 13-3 in the ACC. Maryland scores 79.3 points per-game, which ranks 17th while giving up 67.5 points per-game, which ranks 146th. Greivis Vasquez scores 19.5 points per-game and dishes out 6.3 assists per-game. Landon Milbourne adds 12.5 points per-game for the Terps.
Houston is making its 19th tournament appearance this year and it is the Cougars first appearance since 1992. Houston is 19-15 on the season and 7-9 in the Conference USA. The Cougars won the conference tournament to get the automatic bid. Houston averages 78.7 points per-game, ranking 20th in the country, while the Cougars give up 74.6 points per-game, which ranks 272nd. Aubrey Coleman averages 25.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per-game to lead Houston while Kelvin Lewis adds 15.3 points per-game.
Maryland and Houston can score a lot but that point total is pretty high. Look for the under to hit and for Maryland to win, but not by enough to cover as Houston can score a lot in a little amount of time.
Our NCAA Tournament Free Pick for this matchup is: HOUSTON +9.5 and UNDER 157
March Madness Betting Trends
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Houston’s last 8 games
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Maryland is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Maryland’s last 6 games
Maryland is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
March Madness Injury Report
MARYLAND
[C] 01/31/2010 – Steve Goins out indefinitely ( Knee )
[F] 01/06/2010 – Jin Soo Choi is leaving school ( Personal )
HOUSTON
No Injuries Reported
March Madness Game Odds
Maryland Terrapins -9.5 Over 157
Houston Cougars +9.5 Under 157
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Posted: 3/19/10 7:12PM ET