The Michigan Wolverines are looking to stop a three-game losing skid when they host the Maryland Terrapins on Tuesday. Neither of these teams has played particularly well to start the season, but they’ll each be hoping a win here can turn things around.
Will the Terps go on the road and put a scare into the Wolverines tonight? Continue reading our best free college basketball betting picks and predictions for the answer.
Maryland vs Michigan odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Michigan opened as a 6-point favorite in this exciting conference matchup and the Wolverines are now laying 6.5 on some sportsbooks. Meanwhile, the total in this game opened at 137 and has shifted to 136.5 on most books at the time of this writing.
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.
Maryland vs Michigan predictions
Predictions made on 1/18/2022 at 2:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Maryland vs Michigan game info
• Location: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, MI
• Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2
Maryland at Michigan betting preview
Injuries
Maryland: Marcus Dockery G (Questionable), James Graham III F (Out).
Michigan: Zeb Jackson G (Questionable), Brandon Johns Jr. F (Questionable), Hunter Dickinson C (Questionable).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Michigan is 24-10-1 against the spread in its last 35 games coming off a straight-up loss. Find more NCAA betting trends for Maryland vs. Michigan.
Maryland vs Michigan 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
They say there’s no such thing as an easy victory in the Big Ten, but Michigan should be feeling good about its chances of convincingly getting back in the win column here. The Wolverines look like they’ll be getting closer to full health for tonight’s game, and the reality is that they might not need to be at 100% in order to cover against this Terrapins team.
While Michigan’s record might not be impressive right now, the team is 27th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (all efficiency stats from KenPom) and 47th in adjusted defense. Those are some rock-solid numbers on both ends of the floor, and the same can’t be said for Maryland. The Terrapins are currently 102nd in adjusted offensive efficiency and just 69th in adjusted defensive efficiency. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Wolverines were able to shred the Terps defense while also making it extremely hard on interim coach Danny Manning’s team to score.
Look for Eli Brooks to impose his will on this game for Michigan. Brooks was really off in a loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini last game, finishing with just seven points and one assist in 36 minutes of action. That performance was very unlike the senior leader, who should be a heck of a lot better against a much worse opponent tonight. Also, don’t be shocked if a guy like Caleb Houstan makes a big two-way mark on Tuesday. Houstan has had a disappointing freshman season, but he’s a good athlete and knows his role on both ends of the floor.
Michigan will just need to make sure it's proactive in getting out and contesting shots by guards like Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell. Both are capable of getting hot on any given night, but they’ve also been inefficient in the first half of the year.
Prediction: Michigan -6 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
With Maryland being a below-average defensive team, Michigan could be ready to put up a big number. The Wolverines have scored fewer than 75 points in each of their last three games, but the stars are aligning for this to break that streak. Michigan has what it takes to pick apart this Maryland defense, and the team should be energized by the returns of some key rotation pieces. The Terps have also given up at least 76 points in three of their last five contests.
It should also be noted that the Over has hit in each of the last five meetings between these two teams, and it’s also 6-1 in the last seven. The Over is also 4-1-1 in Maryland’s six games as an underdog this year.
Prediction: Over 136.5 (-110)
Best bet
Where Michigan is 6-0 ATS when coming off a game in which the team scored 60 or fewer points over the last three seasons, Maryland is 0-8 ATS after having scored 60 or less over the last two years. That suggests that the Wolverines are often capable of picking themselves up after weak performances while the Terrapins tend to struggle in bunches.
Maryland is also just 2-5 ATS in its last seven games following a straight-up loss while Michigan is 24-10-1 ATS in its last 35 games coming off a straight-up loss of its own. With all that said, the more talented Wolverines are simply the more trustworthy team to come out and pick themselves up out of the dumps.
Michigan is also 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in its last eight meetings with Maryland.
Pick: Michigan -6 (-110)
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Use our college basketball parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
