Michigan basketball vs. Maryland predictions, picks & odds: Thursday, 1/19

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The Michigan basketball squad will travel to the Xfinity Center for a Thursday night Big Ten matchup against the Maryland Terrapins. The visitors are 10-7 and just took down Northwestern 85-78, while the hosts are 11-6 and just fell to Iowa 81-67. Both teams could use a big win to jump-start their seasons, so our experts broke down the spread and game total (over/under).

The Michigan basketball and Maryland basketball teams will face off Thursday night, and both teams have had average seasons up to this point. Michigan is yet to pick up a true road win, and this is just the fourth away contest for the Wolverines this season. They took down Minnesota 90-75 earlier this year, but the other two games ended in a 59-53 loss to Michigan State and a 93-84 defeat at Iowa. The biggest issue for Michigan has been its defense.

The Wolverines give up 70.6 points per game (225th in the country), but they’ve allowed 73 points or more in six of their last ten games. They had a stretch at the start of the New Year where they allowed 63, 46, 69 and 59 points. One of those games was against Maryland, which ended in an 81-46 Michigan rout.

As we stated above, these teams met at Michigan earlier this month, and the Wolverines won by 35. The oddsmakers have Maryland as a 2.5-favorite in this game, so they aren’t anticipating a similar result. The Terrapins shot just 26.5% from the field and 20.0% from three in that game, and we think both marks will improve tonight.

Maryland averages 71.5 points per game, but they’re scoring 75.4 points per contest at home. Their home fans will give them a boost, and we expect them to come out firing on all cylinders because of how poorly they played in their first meeting with Michigan. The Wolverines have enough talent to outlast the early onslaught, but we think both teams will turn this game into an up-and-down affair.

Defense will not be the priority tonight; the over is 5-0 in the last five meetings between Michigan and Maryland, and it is 5-1 in Michigan’s six most recent road contests. Therefore, over 142.5 with -110 odds at PointsBet Sportsbook is the best bet from our Michigan basketball vs. Maryland predictions.

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Michigan is a +2.5 road underdog with -115 odds at PointsBet Sportsbook, while Maryland is a -2.5 favorite with a -105 price. A $115 bet on Michigan +2.5 profits $100 if they upset the Terrapins or lose by fewer than three. A $105 wager on Maryland -2.5 returns $100 of winnings if they’re victorious by three points or more. The game total (over/under) is 142.5, and both the over and the under carry -110 odds.

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