The Maryland Terrapins looked solid in their debut on Tuesday, knocking off Quinnipiac, 83-69. The defense was lacking in the second half, but overall, Maryland just had to close out and hold the lead.
The George Washington Colonials are also coming off a victory to start the season. They found a way against St Francis (PA), winning 75-72 behind two transfers that made a real impact moving forward.
The Terrapins are extremely deep, but George Washington will have to settle for an eight-man rotation after Arizona transfer Ira Lee suffered a ruptured patella tendon.
Check out our picks and predictions on the George Washington vs Maryland for Thursday, November 11.
George Washington vs Maryland odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
The Terrapins opened as a 17.5-point favorite and have since added two points to the spread, now sitting as 19.5-point favorites. The total has also shifted from 137 at open to as high as 140 at a couple of legal outlets.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
George Washington vs Maryland predictions
Predictions made on 11/11/2021 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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George Washington vs Maryland game info
• Location: XFINITY Center, College Park, MD
• Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
• Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: BTN
George Washington at Maryland betting preview
Injuries
George Washington: Ira Lee F (Out).
Maryland: None
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Over is 4-0 in Terrapins’ last four games as a home favorite of 13 or greater. Find more NCAA betting trends for George Washington vs. Maryland.
George Washington vs Maryland picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Terrapins lost so much talent in the offseason, yet, with all of the additions, Maryland looks better on paper than in previous years.
The Terps added Fatts Russell from Rhode Island along with Qudus Wahab from Georgetown. Both of those transfers averaged double figures last year for their respective teams. They’re paired up with Eric Ayala, who just scored his 1,000th point, along with returners Hakim Hart and Donta Scott.
That starting lineup can be lethal. Any one of those five players can lead the team in scoring on a given night. On top of that, freshman forward Julian Reese scored 11 points in his debut with seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
The bench didn’t look all that great for Maryland on Tuesday outside of Reese and Ian Martinez, a former Utah Ute, but overall, the depth will develop and the team will go on.
However, in that game against Quinnipiac, the defense allowed 44 points in the second half and lost the second half, 44-42. After watching this, I’d be careful betting such a high spread with Maryland right now.
George Washington’s starting lineup looks very solid, including Brendan Adams and Joseph Bamisile, who are both transfers that will make massive impacts moving forward. Adams and Bamisile both scored 20 or more points while returning forward Ricky Lindo added 17 in their win against St. Francis (PA) on Tuesday.
At guard, the Colonials also have James Bishop, who is capable of 20 points any night, after averaging 19.1 points per game last season. There’s depth on this roster and plenty of potential when it comes to scoring. So I’ll take the points.
Prediction: George Washington +19 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
In my spread prediction, I spoke about offense, offense and more offense. I like points in this game. The starting lineups for both teams have so much potential. Nobody would be surprised if any one of those 10 players between both teams scored 10 or more points in a game.
Defense has never been George Washington’s specialty. Last year, teams destroyed them in the paint. Opponents took 45.3 percent of their shots at the rim, and they weren’t getting many stops around the rim either.
However, the pick-and-roll offense led by Bishop is deadly. He can pull up from anywhere and shoot, but also has the potential to go and assist more buckets this year with more scoring talent around him.
On the other hand, Maryland is usually a team that relies on jump shots. If they read the scouting report and score more around the rim, the offense will really start to work for Maryland.
Prediction: Over 138.5 (-110)
Best bet
I’m sticking with this Over as the best bet. Maryland allowed Quinnipiac to outscore them in the second half of Tuesday’s game. Quinnipiac actually shot 30 threes and nailed 36.7 percent of them while getting to the line 23 times.
If Quinnipiac made their foul shots, the game would’ve been a lot closer.
We know George Washington wants to shoot the long ball. They took 24 threes against St. Francis and shot 37.5 percent. Outside of the long ball, they were a bit ineffective. Still, I’d rather have more threes as it’s more points at the end of the day.
Rebounding will be an issue for any mid-major team going up against Maryland, but that helps on Maryland’s side of the ball when it comes to getting second chances. Maryland had 13 offensive rebounds against Quinnipiac and I wouldn’t be surprised if that increased in this game.
Pick: Over 138.5 (-110)
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