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Maryland Basketball: Is Belmont or Temple the better NCAA Tourney matchup?

By Anthony Brown

COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins drives to the basket through Ignas Brazdeikis #13 and Jordan Poole #2 of the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins drives to the basket through Ignas Brazdeikis #13 and Jordan Poole #2 of the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – DECEMBER 29: Kevin McClain #11 of the Belmont Bruins drives to the basket past Ryan Cline #14 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the game at Mackey Arena on December 29, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – DECEMBER 29: Kevin McClain #11 of the Belmont Bruins drives to the basket past Ryan Cline #14 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the game at Mackey Arena on December 29, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

How does Maryland match up with Belmont?

Belmont basketball finished tied for first with Murray State in the regular season standings for the Ohio Valley Conference but lost in the conference championship game 77-65 to the Racers. In that game, Ja Morant scored 36 points in 40 minutes and made all nine of his free throws. He also added seven rebounds and three assists to his stat line. Dylan Windler scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the loss for Belmont basketball. The racers also outrebounded the Bruins 46-21.

The Bruins leading scorers are Windler (21.4 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 54.8 percent shooter from the field, 43 percent from behind the arc), Kevin McClain (16.3 PPG,  45.8 percent shooter from the field, 36.7 percent from behind the arc) and Nick Muszynski (14.9 PPG, 60.8 percent shooter from the field, 38.9 percent from behind the arc). Windler’s averaging almost 11 rebounds a game as a six-foot-eight guard. The Bruins are clearly a dangerous shooting team. Should these two teams play, Maryland needs to have tight perimeter defense, cut off passing lanes, and make sure that Belmont can’t hurt them with off-ball screens.

Belmont basketball had key wins against Lipscomb, UCLA, Western Kentucky, Morehead State twice and Murray State. They went on a 14-game winning streak including both their Ohio Valley Conference wins. Their key losses came against Purdue and Murray State.

This is not the ideal matchup for Maryland basketball. If the shots start falling for the Bruins, it could get ugly. I’m not saying there would be a blowout because the Terps have a talented frontcourt that could hurt Belmont basketball. Again, the easiest way for a team to beat the Terps is forcing turnovers. If they can shoot the Terps out of VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and play solid defense, the upset is theirs.

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