Florida vs. Maryland March Madness Preview and Prediction
In the No. 1 vs. No. 4 matchup in the NCAA Tournament West Region, the Florida Gators take on the Maryland Terrapins in Sweet 16 action.
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How to Watch Florida vs. Maryland
When: 7:39 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 27th
Where: Chase Center in San Francisco, CA
Watch: TBS
Odds for Florida vs. Maryland
(odds current at time of publish)
Spread: Florida -6 (-110), Maryland +6 (-110)
Total: Over 155 (-110), Under 155 (-110)
DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | Florida vs. Maryland Matchup Page
Florida vs. Maryland Preview & Prediction
Cinderella may be a princess, but it was a Queen who sent Maryland to the Sweet 16 with a win over Colorado State in a hotly-contested 4 vs. 12 matchup. Derik Queen’s heroics capped off a comeback win for the Terps to set up a battle with Florida, who knocked off reigning two-time champion UConn with a 77-75 win. Liam McNeeley’s 3-pointer made that game closer than it actually was, as Florida led 77-72 with five seconds left.
It has been a bit of a windy road, but the chalk did hold up in the top part of the West Region bracket, bringing the No. 1 and No. 4 teams together. It is good that Maryland has a few days to rest and recuperate because the Terps are sorely lacking depth, but the “Crab Five” starting lineup is good enough to hang with anybody in the nation. All five were in double figures in the win over Colorado State and accounted for 70 of the 72 points and 59 of the team’s 62 shots.
Had this been a quick turnaround with one day off in between, it certainly would have been way more difficult for Maryland, who is going to have their hands full anyway. The Terrapins are a good team, but Florida is a great team, ranking in the top five in adjusted offensive efficiency and top 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency. But, Maryland is a top-10 team themselves, boasting an elite defense and certainly a good enough offense to make some noise.
There aren’t a ton of enormous differences between the two teams, but there are some noteworthy ones. Maryland has been substantially better at forcing turnovers and is also the stronger 3-point shooting team. Florida played the stronger schedule, is significantly better at shooting 2s, and is the better offensive rebounding team of the two.
While Maryland is an impressive team, and a top-25 team by Haslametrics’ Record Quality metric, Florida is a top-three team in that department, as the strength of the SEC plays a huge role. That being said, the Big Ten has fared extremely well in the NCAA Tournament to this point and Maryland is plenty battle-tested to give Florida a game. From a shot selection standpoint, Florida’s Rim & 3 Rate is definitely higher, as you would expect from a numbers guy like Todd Golden, but Kevin Willard’s team has been very efficient in all phases of the offensive half-court.
Estimated Score: Florida 80, Maryland 74
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