The 9th-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (19-14) battle the 8-seed Maryland Terrapins (21-12) Thursday in the first NCAA Tournament matchup of a 16-game opening-round slate. Tip-off from Birmingham’s Legacy Arena is set for 12:15 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the West Virginia vs. Maryland'odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
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West Virginia ended the regular season losing 4 of its last 7 games. It beat Texas Tech 78-62 in the Big 12 Tournament as a 4-point favorite before losing to the eventual West Region’s No. 1 seed in Kansas 78-61. Thanks to a late run, the Mountaineers are 17-16 against the spread (ATS) this season. They covered 5 in a row before the loss to Kansas as 3-point underdogs.
Maryland lost as a 2.5-point underdog to the Indiana Hoosiers 70-60 in the Big Ten quarterfinals after beating Minnesota 70-54, slightly covering as a 14-point fave. The Terps lost 3 of their last 4 games, yet did win 8 of their last 12 to close out the regular season. The Terrapins enter the NCAA Tournament with a 21-12 ATS record.