Maryland, Ohio State, and other picks for college basketball big games tomorrow

Tuesday and Wednesday were huge nights of college basketball. There were huge upsets, bubble’s burst, and huge wins pulling teams off the bubble. It only makes sense that the schedule lets up a little bit. There are still some massive games on the schedule for bubble teams hoping to make a late run to the tournament.

Northwestern at Ohio State prediction and pick

It has been an awful year for the Wildcats. Stars Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach are out for the season, Jordan Clayton decided to break his redshirt with eight games left in the season, and Ty Berry and Nick Martinelli are the only offensive threat that Northwestern has and have turned into pure volume shooters. In their most recent outing, the Wildcats blew a 20-point lead at home against Nebraska by giving up a 24-4 run midway through the second half. It was devastating given how well the Wildcats played, vs how bad Nebraska played for 30 minutes of that game. Northwestern doesn’t have much depth and the other players were not making shots.

Ohio State enters the game reeling from a devastating loss to Michigan in Columbus. The Buckeyes are currently on the right side of the bubble, but the losses are mounting. Ohio State needs to win as many games as possible down the stretch to make sure they hear their name called come Selection Sunday. Ohio State has a much better team than Northwestern does now, but the Wildcats are scrappy and somehow this game will come down to the last few possessions. Bruce Thornton and John Mobley need to play like the best players on the floor all night long.

USC at No. 20 Maryland prediction and pick

USC is one of the more interesting teams in the country. They have a lot of talent, are well-coached by Eric Musselman, and have some great wins. They have won at Nebraska, at Illinois, and beat Michigan State. Those are great wins and should put them on the NCAA tournament bubble. The Trojans are not on the NCAA tournament bubble because of their head scratching losses. They have lost at Northwestern, at Indiana, and took losses at home to California and Minnesota. Yet somehow USC will keep the game in College Park close and give themselves a chance to win the game late. That is USC basketball in 2024-2025.

Maryland has a 15-1 record at home and are the one in the Big Ten that no one should want to play. The Terrapins have five starters who all score in double digits. The two big men are both skilled physical guys who get a ton of points at the rim and can shoot free throws, block shots, and rebound. Then there are the guards who can all get into the paint, pass and are deadly shooters from deep. Maryland gets clicking on all cylinders a lot, and when they do, they are extremely hard to beat. Maryland is not going to drop a game at home to a team they should beat. USC can keep this close, but without a Desmond Claude 30-point effort, it likely won’t win the game. Maryland is playing too well right now.

Here are the rest of the games from a lighter Thursday.