The Maryland Terrapins and the Alabama Crimson Tide meet Saturday in NCAA Tournament Second Round college basketball action from Legacy Arena. Maryland stands at 22-12 overall this year. The Terrapins eked out a tournament win over West Virginia on Thursday. As for Alabama, they’re 30-5 on the season and took out Texas A&M-CC in their Thursday First Round matchup. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Maryland Terrapins
Maryland managed a 20-11 run across the regular season. The Terrapins finished off with consecutive losses to Ohio State and Penn State, then beat Minnesota 70-54 in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament. Maryland would then fall to Indiana 70-60 on March 10.
In the First Round of the NCAA Tournament versus West Virginia on Thursday, the Terrapins held a slim 32-30 edge going into the second half. Maryland kept the pace on a 35-35 run from there and won 67-65. Julian Reese was the leading team scorer on 17 points and nine rebounds.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Over on the Alabama side, they were 26-5 by season’s end. The Tide finished off with a four-game win streak before a loss to Texas A&M on March 4. Alabama then beat Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament en route to the championship.
In First Round tournament activity on Thursday, the Tide were up comfortably at the break 54-34. Alabama hit a 42-41 run the rest of the way and got the 96-75 blowout win. Nick Pringle led the way on 19 points and 15 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stick with Alabama. The Tide had very little trouble with Texas A&M-CC in their Thursday game, and they’ve been on a great run lately. Alabama has hit 72 or more points in each installment of this four-game win streak and they’ll probably score pretty well here also. As for Maryland, they were able to fight off a pesky West Virginia team in their First Round matchup, shooting 51.1 percent along the way. The Terrapins were a sketchy 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the line, gave up 13 turnovers and got out-rebounded 35-29 (16-8 offensive) in the win, however. I think Maryland will keep a reasonable pace for much of the game here, but I don’t think they’ll cover if the Tide play well.