Maryland Terrapins at Seton Hall Pirates Betting Preview

The seventh-ranked Maryland Terrapins square off with unranked Seton Hall on Thursday evening in a Big Ten vs. Big East matchup. Seton Hall has lost its last two games against Iowa State and Rutgers by 10 and 20 points, respectively. The Terrapins lost their last game to Penn State and narrowly escaped defeat the game before against Illinois. Thursday night’s game could mark a get-right game for one of these teams.
Seton Hall is 0-2 against ranked opponents this season, as well as 0-2 against the Big Ten, and it faces both in one opponent in this one. Maryland is 10-1 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play. The Terrapins were outplayed by Illinois for about 60 percent of the game but ended up getting the win by one in the end. Maryland is favored by five points headed into this contest.
Top Of The Ten
Maryland has found its place amongst the top teams in the conference to kick things off, which should bode well when the full conference schedule gets going in January. The Terrapins have four starters averaging in double-digits in scoring on the season, and their offense ranks 84th in the nation in points per game.
Senior guard Anthony Cowan leads the way with his 16.5 points and 4.3 assists per game while also averaging 1.4 steals.
Sophomore forward Jalen Smith leads the team in rebounding and blocks, averaging 10.2 and 2.5, respectively. Smith is a force in the paint and is shooting 49 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard Aaron Wiggins has been a consistent contributor, providing 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. The Terrapins have a pretty well-rounded bunch but only go about seven or eight players deep, which could be a problem down the stretch.
Dropping Out
Seton Hall came into the Rutgers game last week ranked No. 22 in the AP poll, but after falling to the Scarlet Knights, the Pirates come into this matchup ranked outside of the Top 25. Their offense ranks about the same as Maryland’s, sitting at 85th in the nation in scoring.
The Pirates rank 142nd in the nation in points allowed per game. They just aren’t getting enough contributions from enough players on either end of the floor, as they only scored 46 against Rutgers.
Led by senior guard Myles Powell, who’s averaging 21.2 points per game, the Pirates need others to distribute and provide some scoring moving forward. Jared Rhoden leads the team in rebounding, only averaging 5.5 per game, so you can see there are issues all over with this team.
Overcoming The Odds
It seems Vegas doesn’t want to make it a point of helping Seton Hall out, giving Maryland the five-point edge in this one, but the Pirates have the talent to make this an interesting matchup. Powell is a dominant scorer; however, the pick in this game is easier than that.
The Terrapins are only 5-6 against the spread this season, but they even it up Thursday night. The pick is Maryland to roll and cover.