The No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers will continue their initial run through their new conference when they face the Maryland Terrapins this Saturday night at the Comcast Center. Tip off for this ACC tilt is set for 6 p.m. (ET), and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

The Panthers crushed Clemson 76-43 this past Tuesday as 11-point home favorites to post their seventh straight up victory in their last eight games. They are 5-1 SU in ACC play with a 4-1-1 record against the spread in those six games. The total has gone “over” in four of their last five outings.

Maryland’s record in the ACC has dropped to an even 3-3 SU after losing to NC State 65-56 as a one-point road underdog this past Monday. The Terrapins have failed to cover in three of their last four games to fall to 8-7 ATS. The total stayed “under” the 143-point closing line against the Wolfpack, and it has now stayed under in three of their last five games.

Pittsburgh at Maryland Betting Storylines

One of Pittsburgh’s five conference wins came in a 79-59 romp over Maryland on Jan. 6 as an 8.5-point home favorite. It turned a six-point lead after one half into a laugher with a 15-7 run early in the second half. Lamar Patterson led the way with 19 points, but the Panthers will not have Durand Johnson this time around. He added a career-high 17 points in that game but was lost for the season with a knee injury. Pitt shot 53 percent from the field against the Terps as compared to a field-goal percentage of 48.7 on the year. It is averaging 76 points a game and pulling down 37.4 rebounds.

Patterson has led the way all season long with 17.4 points a game while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from 3-point range. Talib Zanna leads the team in rebounds with 7.9, and he is scoring 13.4 points a game. Cameron Wright is averaging 10.8 points as the third-leading scorer on the team.

The Terrapins will try and stop their current slide behind an offense that is averaging 72 points a game but shooting just 42.9 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from outside the perimeter. They have done a good job controlling the boards with 39.5 rebounds a game, which is ranked 29th in the nation, but defensively they are holding opponents to an average of 68.4 points, which is ranked 129th among Division I teams.

Seth Allen came up big in the first meeting between these two with a team-high 18 points, but the Terrapins’ top scorer this season has been Dez Wells with 14.3 points a game. They have a total of five players averaging at least 10 points, with Evan Smotrycz leading in rebounds (6.8) and Allen dishing out a team-high 3.3 assists.

Pittsburgh at Maryland NCAA Betting Odds and Game Trends

BetOnline has opened the Panthers as 3.5 -point road favorites over Maryland for this ACC matchup.

The Panthers are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a SU win, and they are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five road games. The total has gone over in eight of their last 11 games following a SU win.

The Terrapins are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against a conference opponent and 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games against a team that has a SU winning record on the road. The total has gone over in 35 of their last 51 games following a SU loss.

The only other time these two met in recent memory was Pitt’s 79-70 victory in 2010 as a 7.5-point home favorite.

Free College Basketball Picks: Pittsburgh at Maryland Betting Predictions

Pittsburgh has quickly established itself as one of the top teams in its new conference, but this Saturday’s matchup has trap written all over it. Everything went the Panthers’ way the first time these two met, and while it is highly doubtful that they will lose this game SU, bank on the Terrapins making them earn the win this time around by covering at home.

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