The Purdue Boilermakers will take on the Maryland Terrapins for one of the best games of the season on Thursday night.
Both teams have played well this season, with Purdue being a top-10-ranked team and sitting at 23-3. Maryland sits at 17-8 and 8-6 in the Big 10.
Unless something drastic happens, Purdue and Maryland will both make the NCAA Tournament and get to enjoy March Madness. However, this is a huge game for Purdue if they want a top-2 seed in the tournament. Another loss could be them in a tough position, and that’s the last thing they want in this situation.
The Boilermakers come into this one at -1 on the spread line and -115 on the moneyline. Sportsbooks have the over/under at 132.5.
Biggest Purdue Game of the Year
While it might sound crazy to say a random game in the middle of February is the biggest one of the year for Purdue, it truly might be. They realize that every game they play for the remainder of the season will have these implications, and that means they need to come out ready to go. If they lost this game, they definitely won’t be a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament unless something happens that many don’t expect.
Still, Purdue has been incredible this season and will look to get the job done and worry about the tournament when the time comes. As a one-point favorite, it’s certainly something to think about. With how well they’ve played, the books could be telling us something.
They dropped their last game to Northwestern 64-58, and that might even be enough to knock them out of a one-seed. Zach Edey must take this game over just as he has all season.
March Madness for Maryland With a Win
This Maryland Terrapins team is very good, and there’s even an argument to be made that they should be a top-25 team. While they have some tough losses for their resume, they can beat anyone in the nation at any given moment, and the sportsbooks realize that on Thursday. They sit at 17-8 overall but 13-1 on their home court.
Playing at Maryland is tough due to the insane crowd environment, and that could come back to be the deciding factor here. However, Purdue has proven multiple times throughout the season that they can beat anyone on any court.
If Maryland is going to get the win, the offense needs to show up. When they’ve lost this season, it’s because their offense fails to get much going. Purdue plays an elite level of defense, and that can be a huge issue for the Terrapins.
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins Prediction
Considering that arguably the top team in America is only a one-point favorite, taking Purdue to win this game certainly isn’t a bad game. While it could be a trap game, Purdue is clearly the better team, and if they show up and do their thing, they should win this game.
This is a Maryland line all the way, but the books don’t always get this right.
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