Playing on the road in the Big Ten is going to be a nightmare for a number of top teams this year. The Maryland Terrapins have already won their first two road tests, albeit particularly tough battles, but this might be the game they trip up against the Michigan Wolverines.
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HOW THE MARYLAND TERRAPINS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Melo Trimble was the man against Wisconsin on Saturday. He scored 21 points, including putting the ball in his hands on the last possession of the game, where he stroked the long three on the road to beat the Badgers.
There are times where Rasheed Sulaimon, Diamond Stone, Jake Laymon, Damonte Dodd and Robert Carter aren't at their best, but the Terps can always count on Trimble to carry the load no matter what else the team is getting from elsewhere.
Trimble is the man who's going to have to be good for Maryland to win this game, but the rest of the supporting cast will have to step up for sure to cover it. The Terrapins got 14 points and 11 boards out of Carter, but Layman and Sulaimon only scored four points apiece even though they both played 35 minutes against the Badgers.
That just won't cut it against a Michigan team far more dangerous than that of Wisconsin.
HOW THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Caris LeVert badly has to get back in the lineup if the Wolverines are going to win this game. He hasn't played yet in the calendar year due to a leg injury, and he's questionable to return for this one.
Big Blue is losing a 6-foot-7 de facto point guard with him riding the pine. LeVert averages 17.6 points, 5.4 boards and 5.2 assists per game, and it's darn near impossible to replace that output.
Give Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman a lot of credit, though. He's hardly left the court since LeVert succumbed to injury, and he has 39 points in his last two games as a result. Still, Abdur-Rahkman isn't anything more than a pure shooter, and he's a defensive liability as we saw against Purdue over the weekend.
If LeVert doesn't play, the best shot at covering is going to be getting complete games out of Zak Irvin, Duncan Robinson and Derrick Walton Jr., though that's a lot of pressure to be putting on the team's second, third and fourth best players.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Michigan is quietly 5-2 ATS at home, including covering three games in a row. The Crisler Center is a nightmare to try to go into for the opposition, and this game shouldn't be an exception to that.
If LeVert comes back to the fold and is healthy, we expect the Wolverines to win this game SU. They do a fantastic job of shooting the ball with great efficiency at 50.1 percent, and are lethal three-point shooters at home, knocking down 48 percent of their triple attempts at the Crisler Center thus far this year.
There's a reason why the Wolverines are 6-1 for over bettors as well in this building, and we see yet another Michigan/over parlay cashing in on Tuesday night.
Michigan 79, Maryland 72
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