On Friday afternoon, the West region will see a modern-day version of the tortoise and the hare. The No. 4 seeded Maryland Terrapins will do battle with the No. 13 seed, Grand Canyon Antelopes. Maryland is looking to get back on the winning track after having their heart broken by Michigan’s Tre Donaldson in the Big Ten semifinals 81-80. The Antelopes, on the other hand, are fresh off yet another WAC tournament title, their third straight. The Lopes will be looking for their second first-round upset in as many seasons after knocking off Saint Mary’s in last year’s tournament.
Kevin Willard’s Terrapins finished in a tie with Michigan for second in the Big Ten with a 14-6 record. That record is a bit deceiving, though, as every game they lost to a conference opponent (including the postseason) was by six points or less. Maryland is one of the best defensive teams in the country with every defensive metric you look at placing them in the top 50. On the other end of the floor, they can be just as good. They can score with anyone, putting up nearly 82 points per game, with five guys in double figures, led by freshman big man Derik Queen and his 16 points and nine boards per game.
Bryce Drew’s Antelopes enter the tournament at 26-7 but, like their opponents are quite familiar with close games, having lost just twice all year by double digits and only once since the third game of the year against Arizona State. Offensively, this veteran club has just one underclassman, sophomore Makaih Williams, among their top seven scorers. Seniors JaKobe Coles and Tyon Grant-Foster find their names all over the stat sheet, combining for 29 points, 11.7 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and even 2.5 blocks per game.
The winner of this one will have little time to rest as they will take the floor again on Sunday against the winner of No. 5 Memphis and No. 12 Colorado State.
How to watch Grand Canyon vs. Maryland
- Date: Friday, March 21
- Time: 4:35pm EDT
- Venue: Climate Pledge Arena
- How to watch (TV): TBS
- Streaming: Fubo TV
- Grand Canyon Record: 26-7
- Maryland record: 25-8
Grand Canyon vs. Maryland odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Grand Canyon +430
- Maryland -600
Spread
- Grand Canyon +10.5 (-110)
- Maryland -10.5 (110)
Total
- 149.5 over (-115)/under (-105)
Grand Canyon injury report
N/A
Maryland injury report
- Jahari Long, G: Game time decision (knee)
- Chance Stephens, G: Game time decision (undisclosed)
- Braden Pierce, C: Out for season (eye)
Grand Canyon vs. Maryland series history
- First ever meeting
Grand Canyon vs. Maryland prediction
Both teams bring a balanced attack to the offensive end of the floor, although Grand Canyon likes to do most of their work from inside the arc and at the free-throw line, with 76% of their scoring coming from those two areas. If the Antelopes want to pull off another upset, they’ll need to force Maryland into a half-court game and show off that three-point defense because the Terrapins are 28th in the country in shooting the long ball. If that is the case, Duke Brennan will need some help containing Queen down low, and the Lopes will need to get to the free throw line often, which is something they excel at. In the end, I think Grand Canyon will keep it close for a while but Maryland will pull away.
Prediction: Maryland 78, Grand Canyon 66