The Oregon Ducks (7-6) and Maryland Terrapins (7-6) are set to face off on Friday night, going head-to-head in College Park. The Big Ten showdown will tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Peacock.
The Ducks are 2.5-point favorites on the road with -162 Moneyline odds and the total has been set at 150.5 points. Here is a preview of the conference matchup featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Oregon vs. Maryland Preview, Prediction
Oregon Ducks
The Ducks got off to a hot – albeit tenuous – start to the season in 2025, beating Hawaii by one and Rice by four before taking care of business against South Dakota State and Oregon State. Immediately after that four-game winning streak, however, Oregon lost five straight to No. 21 Auburn, San Diego State, Creighton, No. 24 USC and UCLA. The only time the Ducks lost by single digits in that span was against the Trojans, and even that was at home. Oregon has since lost by nine to No. 7 Gonzaga, but did add wins over UC Davis, Portland and Omaha around that result.
The 7-foot super senior Nate Bittle is the Ducks’ leading scorer at 16.1 points per game with 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a night, even despite missing two contests and working his way back from injury. Junior guard Jackson Shelstad isn’t far behind at 15.6 points per game, attempting 8.8 three-pointers per game but only hitting 31.4% of them. Elon transfer guard TK Simpkins, on the other hand, is hitting 43.4% of his 5.8 three-point attempts per game. While forward Kwame Evans Jr. has taken a leap with 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, the 6-foot-9 junior missed Oregon’s last game against Omaha.
The most notable stats to keep an eye on with the Ducks are their 14.1 offensive rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game, which rank No. 28 and No. 51 nationally, respectively. Their opponents rank outside the top-300 with just 2.5 blocks per game, too, which can be at least partially attributed to Oregon ranking No. 84 in three-point attempts per game.
Oregon ranks No. 69 in adjusted net efficiency, per the latest KenPom ratings. The Ducks boast the No. 69 adjusted offense and No. 93 adjusted defense.
Maryland Terrapins
Following an early 10-point loss to Georgetown, the Terrapins built a pretty respectable resume over the first few weeks of the season. They beat Alcorn State and Mount St. Mary’s at home, Marquette on the road and Coppin State and UNLV at neutral sites. No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 8 Alabama proceeded to beat the brakes off of Maryland at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas by 39 and 33 points, respectively. Wins over Wagner and Old Dominion in December bookended another sketchy stretch that featured three straight losses to Iowa, No. 2 Michigan and No. 23 Virginia.
The Terps’ leading scorer, former Minnesota and Texas A&M transfer Pharrel Payne, has been out since suffering an injury against Michigan on December 13. He is averaging 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while attempting 9.6 free throws a night. Former Northern Illinois and Kansas transfer guard David Coit scored 31 against the Wolverines and is averaging 13.7 points and 3.2 assists per game, but he came off the bench and did not score versus Old Dominion last Sunday. Texas A&M transfer Solomon Washington, who didn’t return from a preseason ankle injury until December, is averaging 8.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Darius Adams, Andre Mills, Myles Rice and Elijah Saunders are all averaging over 8.0 points per game, too, with the star freshman Adams leading that secondary group at 12.8.
Maryland ranks outside the top 300 in field goals, assists, blocks and turnovers per game in Buzz Williams’ first season since coming over from Texas A&M. The team does, however, make the 11th-most free throws per game nationally.
According to the updated KenPom ratings, the Terrapins rank No. 101 in adjusted net efficiency. Their offense ranks No. 123, while their defense ranks No. 88.
Oregon vs. Maryland Pick, Best Bet
The Terrapins are 4-2 at home this season, although it took overtime for them to get past Mount St. Mary’s. Their two home games against high-major opponents wound up as 10-point and 18-point losses, so the Xfinity Center has been far from a comfortable setting. Outside of its seven-point road win over Marquette, Maryland has lost its other six games to high-major opponents by an average of 21.2 points.
By no means are the Ducks a wagon, but they are favored for a reason. Oregon has yet to lose to a team ranked outside of the KenPom top 52. Six of the Ducks’ seven wins have come by more than three points, and the one exception to that pattern came against a Hawaii team that is 16 spots higher than Maryland in the KenPom rankings.
Especially now that Bittle is healthy, averaging 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 4.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game over his last three appearances, there is a clear path towards a comfortable win for the Ducks. If the Terrapins don’t have Pharrel Payne, they will have an even tougher time keeping things close.
