Ohio State at Maryland Spread, Expert Pick & TV Info

Important game in the Big Ten on Saturday afternoon as Ohio State is on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble right now as the Buckeyes appear poised to miss the Big Dance for the second year in a row barring a late-season surge. No. 21 Maryland is on a two-game losing streak and could fall out of the Top 25 – it certainly will with a loss to OSU. The Terps will be home favorites on the college basketball spreads.

Ohio State at Maryland Spread, Expert Pick & TV Info

When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 4 PM ET Where: XFINITY Center, College Park TV: ESPN Stream: WatchESPN Radio: Ohio State / Maryland Opening NCAAB Lines: Maryland favored by TBA

Why Bet On Ohio State?

The Buckeyes avoided a big home upset against terrible Rutgers on Wednesday, escaping 70-64. Rutgers was dealt what should have been a big blow with 4:49 left in the second half when point guard Corey Sanders fouled out. He had a team-high 17 points, and spearheaded a Scarlet Knights comeback that cut Ohio State’s lead down from 12 to a 50-50 tie with 9:03 left. Yet the Buckeyes allowed Rutgers to hang around. Jae’Sean Tate missed a pair of free throws with 37.5 seconds left, which led to Deshawn Freeman’s layup on the other end that cut Ohio State’s lead to 64-62 with 26.1 seconds left. Marc Loving and C.J. Jackson iced the game with free throws in the final 30 seconds. Kam Williams led Ohio State with 23 points, which matched his career high. Trevor Thompson had 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Buckeyes squandered a 12-point lead, turned the ball over 15 times, got out-rebounded and out-scored in the paint and had to fight off the last-place team in the Big Ten. Ohio State is 13-2 on the season when leading at the half. The Buckeyes are 15-2 when leading with five minutes to play this season. Rutgers shot 39.7 percent from the field in the contest. Ohio State has held 23 of its 25 opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field this season. The Buckeyes are now 11-7 when scoring 70 or more points on the season. For the Buckeyes (15-10, 5-7 Big Ten) to get on the bubble, they need more big wins. Beating Maryland would be the kind of win that would help, so would one on Tuesday night at Michigan State. A win in either of those games, and Ohio State would be in a position to play its way into the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State has two top-50 RPI wins right now — Minnesota and Michigan State — and probably need two more (without any more bad losses along the way).

Why Bet On Maryland?

The Terps still have a shot at the Big Ten regular-season title but can’t afford another loss and hope to catch first-place Wisconsin. The Terps lost at home to No. 23 Purdue last Saturday, which is somewhat acceptable. But losing 70-64 at Penn State on Tuesday is not. Justin Jackson posted a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds but Maryland dropped its first road game of the season. Kevin Huerter (12) and Melo Trimble (11) were the other two Terrapins in double figures for Maryland (20-4, 8-3). Trimble notched his 1,500 career point at Maryland early in the first half. The Terps — who tied a program-record with five consecutive conference road victories heading into Tuesday’s game at Penn State – struggled from the floor, shooting 34 percent from the field and 27 percent from beyond the arc. It marked only the second time since January 2015 that Maryland has lost back-to- back games. The Terps have not lost three games in a row since dropping three straight at Georgia Tech (2/25), at North Carolina (2/29) and vs. Virginia (3/4) in 2012 in head coach Mark Turgeon’s first year at the helm of the Maryland program. Trimble’s 17.2 points per game are on pace to be the most by a Terrapins player since Terrell Stoglin in 2012 (21.6). He was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 and Naismith Trophy Top 30 on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Maryland is shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range in conference play, a massive jump from 34.0 percent in nonconference games. Maryland will honor legendary head coach Lefty Driesell by hanging his banner in the rafters at XFINITY Center in a pregame ceremony Saturday. Maryland has won three straight against Ohio State, including a 77-71 victory in Columbus on Jan. 31. Jackson posted his second straight double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Buckeyes.

Ohio State at Maryland Expert Pick: Maryland Terrapins

Take the Terps to avoid a three-game skid and give the NCAA betting points.