The Buckeyes are on a roll with wins in 7 of their last 8 so why does the February 8th Ohio State at Maryland pick look like a trap? OSU is just a -3.5 favorite on the road on Monday vs. a Terrapins team that has lost two of their last three – the lone win being by one point at home over Purdue as -3 point favorites.
Being on the road shouldn’t matter for Ohio State, who has gotten wins at Iowa, at Wisconsin, and at Illinois in their last three away tilts. The 15-4 Buckeyes have made the climb to #7 in the country, but are still 3rd in a very competitive Big 10. Maryland has won 3 of the last 4 in this series, but just seems very overmatched on Monday.
OSU Too Easy of a Play?
It seems like the Buckeyes should be at least 6 or 7-point favorites in the February 8th Ohio State at Maryland pick. There’s nothing you can throw at OSU right now that they won’t conquer, including an 11-point deficit in the 2nd half at Iowa on Thursday in a game they came back to win 89-85 as 5-point underdogs.
What makes the Buckeyes so good is that they have a balanced scoring attack, as evidenced by EJ Liddell, Duane Washington, and Kyle Young all having 16 points to fuel the win at Iowa. That was actually a down game for Liddell, who had gone for 20+ in 4 of the previous 5 games. On the bright side it was a breakout for Washington, who had been held in single digit points the previous three.
OSU has now risen to #4 in the Big Ten in scoring at 77.7 ppg. That’s a huge advantage against Maryland, who prefers to slow the pace while ranking last in the conference at 69.7 ppg. As a result the Terrapins defense looks a little better in ranking 3rd in the B1G with 66.1 ppg allowed. If Maryland wins, this game is likely to fall well under the 138 betting total.
Any Reason to Think Maryland Keeps It Close?
Really the only positive thing Maryland has going for them is that Monday’s game is at home, even though the Terps are an underwhelming 7-4 at College Park this season. Maryland has kept things close (when games are low scoring) lately though, falling 55-50 at Penn State on Friday as +3 point underdogs and beating Purdue 61-60 as -3 favorites the game before that.
Maryland’s style of basketball doesn’t lend itself to blowouts, although they did lose by 24 at Michigan on January 19th. That being said the Terps have also fallen by 14 to Rutgers, 11 to Michigan, and 22 to Iowa in conference home games this year. Is Ohio State in that class? One would think so.
Maryland does have three players averaging at least a dozen points this season. Eric Ayala has 23 and 16 the last two games but went for just 4 in the loss to Wisconsin. Aaron Wiggins had two games of 18 points before laying a dud with 2 vs. Penn State. Donta Scott had gone for 12+ in five straight but has been held to 9 and 7 the last two. It’s not looking good for Maryland.
Free February 8th Ohio State at Maryland Pick
The consensus for this game would be that Ohio State wins big, and 65% of the public agrees. The -3.5 spread raises a major 🚩Red Flag🚩however. Unless the books just give us a free one after the Super Bowl, it’s looking like Maryland finds a way to at least keep this one close.
Maryland 68 – Ohio State 65
Free Pick: Maryland +3.5
