Northwestern Wildcats vs Maryland Terrapins Prediction, 2/26/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Maryland Terrapins

Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Location: XFINITY Center in College Park, MD

TV: ESPN+

The Maryland Terrapins (19-9) will try to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (20-8) at XFINITY Center on Sunday.

The Northwestern Wildcats played Illinois and went home with a loss by a final score of 66-62 in their last game. Northwestern ended the game having earned a 34.9% field goal percentage (22 out of 63) and made 9 out of their 21 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats buried 9 of 12 tries for a rate of 75.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 29 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 7 assists in the game in addition to creating 16 turnovers and having 11 steals. In terms of defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 44.0% from the field on 22 of 50 shooting. Illinois distributed 6 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. Additionally, Illinois grabbed 36 rebounds (8 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Illinois walked away from this one shooting 71.4% at the charity stripe by converting 15 of their 21 shots. They also made 7 out of their 24 shots from distance. In the matter of fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 18 while Illinois accumulated 16 fouls.

Boo Buie is one guy who was a contributor in this game. He left the arena with 35 points on 12 out of 24 shooting. He played for 35 minutes played and grabbed 3 boards. He finished 50.0% from the floor but finished the game without an assist.

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Northwestern comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 20-8 for the season. They lose possession via turnover 10.0 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.2 fouls per game. As a unit, Northwestern is pulling down 34.5 rebounds per game and has earned 365 assists on the campaign, which ranks 210th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are hitting 32.1% on shots from 3-point land (215 of 669) and 75.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 68.3 pts per contest (272nd in the country) while hitting 40.8% from the field.

On defense, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.9 fouls. They are giving up 32.9% on 3-point shots and they are 20th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (62.0). The Wildcats are giving up a field goal percentage of 40.8% (604 of 1,482) and they relinquish 35.1 boards per game as a squad. They rank 214th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 372 relinquished on the year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Maryland Terrapins got the victory with a final of 88-70 when they faced Minnesota. In relation to rebounding, Maryland allowed Minnesota to grab 21 in all (8 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 70.0% from distance by going 7 of 10 and ended up shooting 11 of 16 at the free throw line (68.8%). The Terrapins allowed Minnesota to knock down 26 out of 54 tries from the field which had them sitting at 48.1% in this matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Terrapins finished the game shooting 32 out of 47 from the field which gave them a rate of 68.1%. In regard to shooting from distance, Maryland knocked down 7 out of their 13 attempts (53.8%). They were able to convert 17 of those for a percentage of 65.4%. Minnesota committed 19 personal fouls in the game which got the Terrapins to the charity stripe for 26 attempts. They turned it over 9 times, while recording 5 steals in this contest. The Terrapins were able to snag 23 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 29 in the game.

Julian Reese was important for the Terrapins in this contest. He knocked down 9 out of 11 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 81.8%, and tallied 12 rebounds. He racked up 21 points in his 28 minutes of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes.

Maryland has a win-loss record of 19-9 on the season. The Terrapins commit 16.1 personal fouls per contest and they go 73.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 11.4 times per game (317th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 10.8 times per game. Maryland has 1,991 pts on the season (71.1 per game) and they collect 34.6 boards per game. As an offense, the Terrapins are shooting 45.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 155th in D-1.

The Terrapins on the defensive side of the court are 28th in D-1 in points given up per game with 63.0. They are forcing 12.1 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (79th in D-1). The Maryland defense gives up 31.6% on 3-pointers (154 of 487) and their opponents are converting on 72.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 11.0 assists and 32.1 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 59th and 68th in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northwestern

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