Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Purdue Boilermakers have dropped two of their last three games, leading to Purdue falling in the polls. A loss to Indiana on February 4 was enough for the voters to look past, but the Boilermakers left the voters no choice but to drop them from the top spot in the rankings after a loss to Northwestern last weekend. They are now the No. 3 ranked team in the country, and they can't afford a loss to the Maryland Terrapins on Thursday evening if they hope to stay in the top five.

For the second time this season, the Purdue Boilermakers will face the Maryland Terrapins. Purdue squeaked out a 58-55 victory in West Lafayette on January 22, but the Terrapins will have the homecourt advantage in the rematch. This game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network on Thursday, February 16, 2023 from the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland.

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins Betting Prediction

The big question coming into this game is whether or not Maryland will be able to shut down Zach Edey. In the initial meeting between these teams, Edey had a big game with 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the floor and 16 rebounds. He pulled down a whopping seven offensive rebounds, more than offsetting his five turnovers. No one else on Purdue had more than eight points as the Boilermakers had 32 combined points outside of Edey. Maryland has three big bodies that it can throw at the 7'4 center, and as long as Julian Reese stays out of foul trouble, the Terps have a good chance of winning this game.

Score Prediction: Maryland 65, Purdue 63
Best Bet: Maryland +2 (-110)

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Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins Betting Odds

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins Betting Resources

Date: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023
TV-Time: BTN, 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: XFINITY Center
Location: College Park, Maryland
Matchup
Expert Picks

Big Ten Tournament Odds

Purdue Boilermakers vs. Maryland Terrapins Betting Stats

Purdue Boilermakers
SU: 23-3
ATS: 11-13-2
O/U: 11-15
PPG: 73.9
OPPG: 61.7

Maryland Terrapins
SU: 17-8
ATS: 16-9
O/U: 8-17
PPG: 70.8
OPPG: 62.8

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Updated on 04/25/2024

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Purdue Boilermakers Betting Analysis

Zach Edey is currently the frontrunner to win both the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award as the top player in the country. The 7'4 center is the reason that Purdue leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, as Edey is averaging 22.2 PPG and 13.0 RPG. He is first in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage as an individual by a whopping three points, and his presence has allowed Caleb Furst to blossom in a supportive role. Furst is averaging 6.5 PPG and 5.3 RPG.

Freshman Fletcher Loyer is going to be very important to Purdue's national championship hopes during March Madness. Loyer is a high four-star prospect out of Fort Wayne that is Purdue's second leading scorer. He is averaging 12.2 PPG this season, but his shooting (especially from the perimeter) has been lackluster for a while now. Loyer is just 7 of 31 from beyond the three-point line over the last eight games.

That has led to more attention being paid to fellow freshman Braden Smith. The undersized Smith (5'10) was an overlooked three-star prospect coming out of high school, but he has an outsized impact on the floor. Smith is averaging 9.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 4.4 APG, and he is one of two Purdue players shooting better than 40% from beyond the arc alongside Mason Gillis.

Maryland Terrapins Betting Analysis

A win over Purdue here would almost certainly guarantee the Maryland Terrapins a spot in the Big Dance. Maryland is 17-8 without a bad loss on its schedule, and the Terps have one-possession losses away from home against both Purdue and Tennessee.

The Terps are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country. Maryland is making just 30.4% of its triples as a team, as no Terrapin with at least 50 three-point attempts is making more than 30.1% of those attempts. That has put the onus on the frontcourt to score some points, and Julian Reese and Hakim Hart have delivered in that regard. Reese is averaging 10.6 PPG while making 63.7% of his twos, while Hart is averaging 11.6 PPG while making 64.9% of his interior shots.

Jahmir Young is the leading scorer on Maryland with 16.2 PPG. He is the primary ball handler for the Terrapins and paces the team with 3.2 APG. Young is a solid free throw shooter when he gets to the charity stripe, but he isn't very efficient as a shooter.

Maryland will need to be strong on defense in order to win this game. The Terrapins have a top 30 defense according to Ken Pomeroy, and they excel in games that are low scoring and close to the vest. Young and Hart both play quality defense while having some of the lowest foul raters in the country, and that's something the Terps want to continue here.