This Maryland Team Is Going To Be Vastly Overrated ... Except Tonight
Another winning night going 3-2 last night. We'll take it. Whiffed completely on Seattle with Alcorn State playing the B2B but we move on. Like I said before. Every single day there's a game I'll have a blog out for picks. If there's a better way for you to read it, let me know. I'm open to adjusting as we go. But this will be looking at matchups more than just saying plays. Let's get into tonight ... a pretty weak night if we're being honest.
As always - all the lines come from the Barstool Sportsbook. Download the app here.
2021-22 Season Record: 8-4
I've talked about it before, but I don't love this Maryland roster. I don't think the addition of Fatts Russel and Wahab really solve the issues they have. They sure as shit don't make up for Turg as head coach, someone I'm absolutely not high on. BUT, they should kill George Washington tonight. GWU is an awful rebounding team. Maryland should have plenty of easy putbacks. GWU runs you off the 3pt line defensively. That's fine. Maryland much rather get to the rim. GWU struggled in the first game against a BAD St. Francis PA team. They gave up 15 offensive rebounds. They had 15 turnovers.
Pick: Maryland -18
Come on? Like we're not going to dip our toe in some day time action. The Pentagon giving us Air Force/South Dakota. Perfect. How can I put this politely? Air Force stinks. Their zone is awful. Their offense is awful. They are just bad. South Dakota staying in the state should have a decent crowd there. The lose Stanley Umede, who was a walking bucket so that's a concern. But Air Force's defense basically lets you drive and then gets out of place. Xavier Fuller should have a big game for South Dakota.
Pick: South Dakota -7.5
The best game of the day. Two potential NCAA Tournament teams with Vermont and UNI and I'm LOST. The line opened at UNI -2 and is all the way up to 6 now? I get it's a road game for Vermont but this feels like an overreaction to Vermont losing Stef Smith this offseason? AJ Green returned from injury for UNI and didn't look good in the first game. Not to mention Vermont does have Ben Shunugu who can really defend his ass off. Vermont also has Ryan Davis, a double-double machine to go up against Austin Phyfe. The computer numbers have this as a 2 point game too. Something seems off, with the number rising, I'll take John Becker.
Pick: Vermont +6
One of the weirdest stats out there is that UC Riverside is 12th in height in the country. Why does that matter? The length on the wing can bother guys like Marcus Bagley and Luther Muhammad. UC Riverside finished over .500 last year because of defense. They were 58th in the country last year in defense. They'll be similar this year and that can really bother Arizona State. It's a typical Bob Hurley team, focused on guard play and scoring. Oh Riverside is also an analytical offense dream, looking to launch threes. They went 6-for-22 against SDSU in game 1. That's going to improve. That was only a 13 point loss and SDSU is better than ASU.
Pick: UC Riverside +9.5