The Michigan Wolverines have announced their presence to the college basketball world and made a strong case why they are the best team in the country. They will look to continue this effort in a Saturday night showdown with the Maryland Terrapins.
Fresh off a Sweet 16 appearance last year, there has been plenty of turnover with Kevin Willard taking the head coaching job at Villanova and Derik Queen leaving for the NBA. Maryland hired Buzz Williams as head coach, but are still settling in on the season.
Looking at the odds, Michigan enters as a 19.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at 152.5.
Michigan vs. Maryland preview
Michigan has been hot out of gates this season, entering this matchup with a perfect 9-0 record. They are producing an average margin of victory of +28.0, which ranks second in the country. These convincing victories have not been due to the lack of talent of their opponents, with the Wolverines already taking down teams like Auburn, Gonzaga, and Villanova in convincing fashion. Michigan is 6-3 against the spread and the under has cashed in five of their nine games.
Dusty May’s squad is putting up 94.0 points per contest, which ranks ninth in the country. They rank 29th in offensive rating, 11th in field goal percentage, 91st in three-point percentage, and are pulling in the third-most rebounds per game. Defensively, Michigan is holding opponents to 66.0 points per contest, which ranks 45th in the country. They rank third in defensive rating, second in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 67th in opponents three-point percentage.
UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg headlines the production with 15.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. Morez Johnson Jr, Trey McKenney, and Roddy Gayle Jr. each also average in double figures, while Aday Mara leads the Big Ten with 2.8 blocks per game along with 9.6 points and 8.9 rebounds. UNC transfer Eliot Cadeau has figured out his three-point shot, shooting 39.5% on the season and adds 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
The Maryland Terrapins enter with a 6-4 record on the season. They have suffered losses at the hands of Georgetown, Gonzaga, Alabama, and Iowa. Maryland enters this matchup having lost three of their last four and they are lacking a signature win so far this season. The Terrapins are 3-7 against the spread and the over has cashed in eight of the 10 games.
Buzz Williams is still scaling up the production to his level of expectations, with the metrics uninspiring across the board. Maryland is scoring 77.1 points per game, which ranks 193rd, and they rank 259th in offensive rating. They are posting the 338th-best field goal percentage, rank 272nd in three-point percentage, and 294th in turnovers per game. On the defensive side of the ball, teams are scoring 78.5 points per game against them, which ranks 284th. Maryland ranks 258th in defensive rating, 279th in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 330th in opponents three-point percentage allowed.
Pharrell Payne has been the biggest bright spot for the Terrapins, averaging 18.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Darius Adams and David Colt are each averaging 13.2 points per game, while no player on the roster is averaging more than 2.6 assists per game. Solomon Washington started the season injured, but has made a strong impact since returning by adding 9.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first two games.
Michigan vs. Maryland pick, best bet
If the spread was set at 29.5 I would still consider laying the number on Michigan in this matchup. They have been dominant on both ends of the ball and have not reached their peak as a team yet, which should be a scary thought for the rest of college basketball. Every team has some form of an Achilles heel, but Michigan has not shown theirs yet and Maryland is not a caliber of talent high enough to find it.
Maryland will find their stride as the season progresses, but have yet to show an identity or elite trait they can lean on as a team. It took overtime for them to beat Mount St. Marys this year, and they were buried by 33+ points against both Gonzaga and Alabama.
Michigan has looked even more dominant than each of these teams and done so on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines have won seven of their nine games by over the 19.5-point margin this season and six straight entering this game. Expect Michigan to come out of the gates hot and for Maryland to fail to find an advantage on either side of the ball. This game should get ugly fast and expect Michigan to have no trouble cruising to a 20+ point victory for the seventh consecutive games.
