Tournament Picks: Alabama vs Maryland 3/22/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Alabama Crimson Tide battle the Maryland Terrapins Monday in college basketball NCAA Tournament action from Lucas Oil Stadium. 

Coming into this NCAA Tournament Second Round matchup, Maryland sits at 17-13 overall. The Terrapins are 2-1 in their last three games and coming off a Saturday tourney win over UConn. As for the Tide, they’re 25-6 this season. Alabama has a nice seven-game win streak going and took out Iona in First Round activity on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Maryland has had a couple of difficult stretches this year, particularly a 2-5 stretch in December/January and a 2-5 run a few weeks later. The Terrapins were bounced from the conference tournament by Michigan but picked up a First Round win over UConn on Saturday. 

In the First Round matchup versus UConn, the Terrapins had a 33-22 lead at the break and were able to hang on for a 63-54 victory. Leading the way in scoring was Eric Ayala with 23 points, five rebounds and three assists. Aaron Wiggins added 14 points as well. 

Over on the Alabama side, they’ve been very consistent this year and haven’t lost consecutive games. In their last seven outings, the Tide have taken care of Mississippi State (twice), Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU and then Iona in the Saturday tournament matchup. 

In the First Round game versus Iona on Saturday, Alabama struggled initially with a 33-32 edge at the half, but were able to hold the Gaels to just 23 points from there in a 68-55 win. The Tide’s top scorer was Herb Jones with 20 points, six rebounds and two assists. 

Alabama is 9-4 ATS in their last 13 as an underdog and 2-5 ATS in their last seven Monday games. The under is 6-2 in the Tide’s last eight overall and 4-1 in their last five neutral-site games. 

Meanwhile, the Terrapins are 1-4 ATS in their last five Monday games and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 NCAA Tournament games. The under is 6-1 in Maryland’s last seven overall and 5-1 in their last six NCAA Tournament games.

PICK: I’m probably going to stick with Alabama. Granted, it took the Tide a while to work out the nerves in a 33-32 halftime result in the First Round game, but ultimately they took care of business against a scrappy Iona squad. Alabama has been scoring quite well recently, with 70 or more points in five of their last six. If they can get off to a good start here I think the Tide will be in good shape against Maryland. The Terrapins are no slouches themselves however, so it should be a fun game to watch.