Maryland Will Continue To Move Up Ranks With Win Tonight

Wisconsin vs. Maryland, 7:00 ET

Sports betting puts a lot of things into perspective. In high school, I had a friend who had a girlfriend who was by all accounts a really nice girl. She was kind, took care of him, loyal, pretty, and basically the girl-next-door type. He cheated on her all the time and was pretty blatant about it. She constantly stuck with him despite him not treating her well. That's kind of how I feel about betting on basketball this year. There have been some great moments in both the NBA and NCAA, but there are also some nights where I'm just being treated like a piece of meat. I'm putting on my revenge face tonight and going out to get a win for us as Wisconsin takes on Maryland.

Wisconsin comes into tonight's game with a 16-4 record and has been decent enough in the Big Ten with a 6-3 record. They started the season with a strong 8-0 record and even beat Arizona. They did most of their damage on their home floor, but they also grabbed a couple of neutral court wins over UCF and Pittsburgh. Then they really started struggling against Big 10 opponents when the conference play started in early December. They lost to Michigan, Marquette (not a Big 10 team), and Illinois in three straight games. All of those teams are really impressive this season, but I think Wisconsin can hang with them. The games against Michigan and Illinois were at least close, losing by three and six in the two games. After that losing streak, they ran off seven straight wins. Their most recent loss came as they were a road team against UCLA, losing by two points. This team, for the most part, is led in scoring each night by John Tonje and John Blackwell. The two of them are averaging over 16 points per game. This isn't an overly deep team with just six guys playing the majority of games and two more contributing for about a third or fourth of the game. 

Wisconsin guard John Tonje throws down absurd dunk. (Credit: Getty Images)

Maryland is a team that has impressed me lately. Their record isn't much different than Wisconsin's record, sitting at 16-5 and 6-4 in conference play. Their losses have been somewhat understandable. They dropped their first game to Marquette early in the season. Their next loss came on the road against a ranked Purdue team. Since the start of 2025, the team is just 5-3. The three losses came against Washington on the road, Oregon on the road, and Northwestern on the road. I'm not sure that I need to really explain that one in more detail. The team is good, but doesn't travel particularly well. However, to their credit, they've won two games in a row on the road, beating Illinois and Indiana in their past two games. The win over Indiana was a bit dramatic as they hit a late three to capture a one-point lead. Then they had to hold their opponent for just one possession and they did, capturing the win. This is a big test, but at least they are at home for this one.

Teams in college typically struggle on the road. It isn't like it is impossible for a team to pull off a road upset or anything, but there are a lot of times that teams just don't get their best game. I would be a bit surprised to see this game go over the total even with two strong offensive teams. I think Maryland has a big edge down low and I think being at home pushes them over the top. I'll back them -5.5 to win this one. 

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