Big Ten Basketball: Michigan vs Maryland odds, TV and key matchups

The Maryland Terrapins want to close out the 2019-20 regular season with a win on their senior night. The Michigan Wolverines face them for the first time this season.

Who: 25. Michigan Wolverines 19-11 (10-9 Big Ten) at 9. Maryland Terrapins 23-7 (13-6 Big Ten)

When: Sunday, March 8th at Noon ET

Where: Xfinity Center in College Park, MD

TV Schedule: FOX

The Maryland Terrapins season finale is upon us folks. This is a chance for the Terps to get one more key win and earn a share of the Big Ten title. Doing that in front of the home crowd would be a nice compliment to celebrating all of the hard work the seniors have put in for the program.

The Michigan Wolverines come into this game-winning seven out of their last 10 games. Juwan Howard’s inaugural season as the Wolverines head coach should be considered a success. They earned key wins against Creighton, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Gonzaga, Iowa, Purdue in double overtime,  No. 25 Rutgers and No. 16 Michigan State. Joe Lunardi has them projected as a sixth seed in the Midwest region playing either Arizona State or Northern Iowa who are both 11 seeds. They are ranked 24th in the NET and have a 6-10 record in quadrant one. Check out their NET team sheet.

The Maryland Terrapins have lost three of their last four games after winning nine straight and while the skid has been tough to watch for Maryland fans, there is room for optimism. They have had key wins against Temple, Harvard, Marquette, Illinois (ranked and unranked), No. 11 Ohio State, No. 18 Iowa, Michigan State and Minnesota. Lunardi has Maryland as a four seed in the East region playing No. 13 Akron. The Terps are ranked 18th in the NET and they have a 6-7 quadrant one record.  Check out their NET team sheet.

Players to Watch (Maryland)

• No. 1  Anthony Cowan Jr.  – 16.2 PPG, 4.6 APG
• No. 25 Jalen Smith – 15.4 PPG, 10.5 APG
• No. 2 Aaron Wiggins  – 10.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG
• No. 11 Daryll Morsell – 8.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG

Players to Watch (Michigan)

• No. 2 Isaiah Livers  – 13.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG
• No. 3 Zavier Simpson – 12.9 PPG, 7.9 APG
• No. 15 Jon Teske  – 11.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG

The point guard-center matchup is going to be interesting to watch. How will Anthony Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith fair against Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske? Cowan Jr. and Simpson lead their teams the same way. Both of them can take over a game at any point, they shoot the three-point shot well and they drive to the basket and score effectively. The center matchup will be one to watch because Teske has the experience and fundamentals on his side while Smith has physicality and athleticism on his side.

The Terps can’t afford to have a slow start and depend too heavily on the three-point shot like they did in the Rutgers loss. The Terps win this game for their seniors Cowan Jr., Will Clark, and Travis Valmon.

Prediction: Maryland 83, Michigan 75