The Maryland Terrapins and the West Virginia Mountaineers meet in an NCAA tournament first round matchup in college basketball action from the Legacy Arena at BJCC on Thursday afternoon.
Maryland Terrapins Team Preview
The Maryland Terrapins come into the tournament after going 21-12 overall including an 11-9 mark in Big Ten conference play. The Terps took down Maryland before falling to Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten conference tournament. Jahmir Young leads the Terrapins in scoring and assists with 16.1 PPG and 3.2 APG while Hakim Hart and Donta Scott each have 11.5 PPG with Scott logging 5.9 RPG as well. Julian Reese has 11.2 PPG with a team-high 7.3 RPG to lead the Terps on the glass and to cap off the scoring in double figures this season. As a team, Maryland is averaging 70.4 PPG on 44.9% shooting from the field, 33% from three and 73.9% from the foul line this season.
The West Virginia Mountaineers come into the tournament off of a 19-14 overall record including a 7-11 mark in Big 12 conference play. The Mountaineers took out Texas Tech in the first round before falling to Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. Erik Stevenson leads the Mountaineers in scoring with 15.5 PPG while Tre Mitchell has 11.6 PPG with a team-high 5.5 RPG to lead WVU on the glass. Kedrian Johnson has 11.2 PPG with a team-high 3.2 APG to lead the Mountaineers in assists. Emmitt Matthews Jr. has 10.4 PPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for West Virginia this season. As a team, West Virginia is averaging 76.3 PPG on 45.3% shooting from the field, 34.8% from three and 74.1% from the foul line this season.
Pick
I’m backing West Virginia here. I like this Mountaineers team and honestly, while it may sound crazy, I think they’re extremely underseeded in this tournament. The Big 12 was extremely tough this season and I don’t know if its being given the respect it deserves. Maryland proved to be a really strong team at home but wildly inconsistent away from home, and a lot of times when they were consistent, the results weren’t very good. I think West Virginia capitalizes here and takes down Maryland. Give me the Mountaineers.