At the time of their opening round win, the Hawaii Warriors were the highest seed to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
They're basically a footnote at this point after a wild afternoon and evening on Friday, but they're still an awfully dangerous No. 13 seed going against the Maryland Terrapins in the Round of 32.
NCAA Tournament Odds at BookMaker.eu
Hawaii Warriors +6.5
Maryland Terrapins -6.5
Over/Under 144
HOW THE HAWAII WARRIORS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Hawaii got a bit of an assist from some injuries on Friday. Cal was without Tyrone Wallace or Jabari Bird due to injury, and Jaylen Brown battled foul trouble all night long and ultimately fouled out with almost eight minutes to go in the game.
That said, these Warriors played their hearts out in that game against a still-talented, yet completely depleted bunch. Roderick Bobbitt was Johnny on the spot time and time again to make some big shots, while Stefan Jankovic made his way around the paint well when he was on the court and not nursing his foul problems as well.
Quincy Smith came up with a big game with 19 points for UH, but that's not the man that has to be counted upon in this game. Instead, against a very talented team, the Warriors have to get a big night out of Aaron Valdes, who had just eight points versus the Golden Bears, while both Bobbitt and Jankovic must play at their best.
Unfortunately, this isn't a particularly deep team, and had the Warriors played the same game against Maryland that they played against Cal, they wouldn't still be in this tournament.
HOW THE MARYLAND TERRAPINS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
There were times against South Dakota State that Maryland really looked like a team with Final Four potential. The Terps raced out to a 34-22 halftime lead, and they led 18 at the under 12:00 timeout of the second half and looked ready to coast to the finish line from there.
But then came the moments where you realized this team still has untapped potential. Melo Trimble was insanely sloppy with turnovers and fouls, not the least of which was a foul on a three-point shooting attempt with SDSU back within seven and less than two minutes to play. Damonte Dodd was nowhere to be found even though he had to play big minutes because Diamond Stone was in foul trouble all night.
However, the optimist should look at it this way for Maryland: The team won an NCAA Tournament game when it wasn't playing all that well, and it did so with basically just Jake Layman and Jared Nickens playing good ball.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Maryland isn't convincing at this point, and as a result, we aren't all that convinced that it's going to be able to cover a relatively short spread in this game. Had this game been played two months ago, we would've not only laid the 6.5, but at least a dozen as well with the Terps. They were really one of the best teams in the nation at that point.
But there's something wrong with Maryland now. The team doesn't seem to be all that cohesive, and Trimble almost feels like he's checked out from the rest of his mates.
Talent is still going to rule the day in this game, and maybe this will be the win which ultimately brings Maryland back together before a game against either Kansas or UConn next week in the Sweet 16. Still, we're going to want the points on our side, and if Valdes, Bobbitt and Jankovic play out of their minds as we know they can, we're not ruling out an upset either.
Maryland 74, Hawaii 70
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The matchup between the Hawaii Warriors and Maryland Terrapins will kick off Sunday, March 20, 2016, at 7:10 p.m. ET at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The matchup will be televised live on TBS.
