Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Maryland Terrapins Prediction, 12/14/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Maryland Terrapins

Date: Monday, December 14, 2020

Location: XFINITY Center in College Park, MD

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Rutgers (+1.5)

XFINITY Center is the site where and the Maryland Terrapins (4-1) will play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-0) on Monday. Rutgers opens this matchup as 1.5-point underdogs. The O/U is set at 140.

Rutgers steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 4-0 for the season. The Scarlet Knights are shooting 32.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (21 of 65) and 59.8% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 82.8 pts per game (53rd in college hoops) while hitting 52.9% from the floor. They are turning it over 14.0 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 14.8 personal fouls every game. As a team, Rutgers is collecting 44.8 boards per game and has accounted for 77 assists so far this year, which is 90th in the country in terms of passing. When they are on the defensive end, the Scarlet Knights are able to force 14.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 30.0% on shots from distance and they are 99th in college basketball in points per game allowed (65.8). The Scarlet Knights defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 37.9% (97 of 256) and they relinquish 32.3 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 144th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 52 surrendered for the year.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights faced the Syracuse Orange and earned the victory with a final of 79-69 in their last contest. Rutgers ended the contest with a 48.3% field goal percentage (28 of 58) and made 9 of 24 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Scarlet Knights made 14 of their 18 tries for a rate of 77.8%. In terms of rebounding, they earned 40 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 19 dimes for this game as well as earning 6 steals and 2 blocked shots. In regard to defense, Rutgers allowed the other team to go 48.3% from the floor on 28 out of 58. Syracuse dished out 16 dimes and 10 steals in this game. Additionally, the Orange grabbed 24 rebounds (7 offensive, 17 defensive) and got 2 blocked shots. Syracuse finished shooting 70.0% at the free throw line by converting 14 of their 20 shots. They buried 7 of 26 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jacob Young is a guy who played a role for this game. He scored 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 39 mins played and also totaled 3 boards. Young finished 46.2% from the field and also recorded 10 dimes. One more player that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Scarlet Knights was Ron Harper. He snagged 7 boards and accounted for 2 dimes. He finished 69.2% from the field in this contest by connecting on 9-of-13 (26 points). At the conclusion of this game, Harper saw the court for 38 min.

Maryland has a record of 4-1 so far this year. As an offense, the Terrapins are hitting on 52.9% from the floor, which ranks 54th in the nation. Maryland has scored 387 pts on the campaign (77.4 per game) and they grab 37.0 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per contest (75th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 13.0 times per game. The Terrapins are committing 15.6 fouls every game and they go 70.9% from the charity stripe. The Terrapins on defense are ranked 43rd in the country in PPG surrendered with 60.8. They have given up 9.2 dimes and 28.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 35th and 19th in college basketball. The Maryland defense allows 30.1% on 3-point attempts (37 of 123) and their opponents are connecting on 63.8% of their foul shots. They are able to force 12.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.4% from the floor (88th in D-1).

When they last played, the Maryland Terrapins walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 67-51 when they played the Clemson Tigers. The Terrapins were able to pull down 19 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 for the contest. They rejected 5 tries while getting 5 steals for the matchup. The Tigers were called for 13 personal fouls for the contest which got the Terrapins to the charity stripe for a total of 11 shots. They were able to knock down 5 of those for a percentage of 45.5%. In the matter of shooting from downtown, Maryland converted 6 of their 18 tries (33.3%). Overall, the Terrapins went 20 out of 50 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.0%. The Terrapins permitted the Tigers to make 26 of 58 tries from the field which had them shooting 44.8% in the game. They shot 45.0% from three-point range by hitting 9 of 20 and ended up shooting 6 of 8 at the free throw line (75.0%). In relation to rebounding, Maryland allowed Clemson to pull down 32 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Galin Smith ended up being a factor for the Terrapins for the game. He made 3 out of 3 in the game giving him a rate of 100.0%, which earned him 8 points. Smith grabbed 2 boards in his 19 minutes and had 2 dimes in this game. One more player who saw a lot of minutes for Maryland was Donta Scott. He finished with 11 points in 30 minutes on the court via 4 of 7 shooting in the game. Scott ended the game having shot 57.1% from the floor while collecting 2 dimes and 6 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Maryland (-1.5)

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