Today the Valparaiso Crusaders will tangle with the Maryland Terrapins at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. The game has a start time of 4:40 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have the Terrapins listed as 4.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 123.5. 

Analysis: The Valparaiso Crusaders won both the Horizon league Regular season and the conference tourney as well. Valpo has had a big year as they went 28-5 overall and will be making their 9th trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they have yet to get past the 2nd round. Valpo has gone 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, but 0-4 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tournament games. The Crusaders have been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 103rd in scoring (69.8 ppg), 69th in shooting (45.9%), 52nd in 3 point shooting (37.8%) and 234th in FT shooting (67.8%). The defense for this team has been very good as they come in ranked 17th in points allowed (59.3 ppg), 8th in defensive FG% (38.0%) and 102nd in 3 point defense (32.8%).

The Maryland Terrapins had a very good first year in the Big 10, where they finished 2nd in the year, while posting an overall 27-6 record. The Terps have won 8 of their last 9 games overall and will be making their 25th trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they have gone to 2 Final Fours and have 1 National Championship. Maryland has gone 13-3 ATS in their last 16 neutral site games and 17-8 ATS in their last 25 games following a S.U. loss. The Terrapins have been a decent offensive squad this year, ranking 114th in scoring (69.5 ppg), 163rd in shooting (43.7%), 63rd in 3 point shooting (37.2%) and 14th in FT shooting (75.7%). The defense for this team has been solid this year, ranking 87th in points allowed (63.2 ppg), 38th in defensive FG% (39.6%) and 40th in 3 point defense (31.2%).          

Pick:  I will go with the Terrapins in this one. They may be a bit overrated, but I feel they will get off on the right foot in the tournament. The Terps did finish 2nd in the Big 10 and they did win 8 of their last 9 games, with that loss being by just 4 points to Michigan State in the Big 10 Tournament. The Crusaders have had a nice season at 28-5, but just hasn't played the same competition as the Terps have. Valpo has really only played 2 non-conference teams of note (New Mexico and Missouri) and they lost both by DD. Maryland is 13-3 in their last 16 neutral site games and will keep that run going with at least an 8 point win here.  

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