NCAA Tournament: LSU vs. Maryland fearless prediction and game preview.
Broadcast
Date: Saturday, March 23
Game Time: COMING
Venue: VyStar Veterans Memorial, Jacksonville, FL
Network: COMING
All You Really Need To Know About LSU (27-6)
(SEC), NCAA NET Rank: 14. East 3-seed
The Tigers had to work way too hard to get by Yale after taking charge early on in the 79-74 win. It helped that Yale was beyond miserable from three until late, but the Tigers were still able to hold on after controlling the boards. But they couldn’t hit from outside, either.
Not having head coach Will Wade around didn’t seem to matter, but the team seemed tight. The defense will give up plenty of points, but it usually comes up with takeaways – it only generated nine gains the Bulldogs. They’ll lose the free throw battle, but they came up clutch late.
All You Really Need To Know About Maryland (22-10)
(Big Ten), NCAA NET Rank: 27. East 6-seed
The Terps took Belmont’s best punch, but they turned it on in the second half and clamped down late to hold on and survive in a 79-77 win. They were able to own the boards and didn’t turn the ball over enough to be a problem, but they struggled from three and had to work way, way too hard to close.
As shown against the Bruins, everything revolves around the defense. When the intensity is there, they can old down just about anyone. But they don’t force mistakes and don’t get enough steals to do much in transition. They can’t get into a shootout, and they must, must, must win on the boards. But …
What’s Going To Happen
Winning on the boards isn’t going to happen for Maryland against LSU.
The Tigers are better defensively – at least at forcing mistakes to work off of – and they’re way too active on the offensive glass. They’ll come up with the steals that Maryland won’t, and they won’t buckle down the stretch on the free throw line like Belmont did.
Fearless Prediction & Line
LSU 78, Maryland 72
Line: COMING, o/u: COMING
ATS Confidence: Coming
5: Watching games by Vegas pool working on fruity drink No. 3
1: Watching game online while doing TPS reports in your cubicle
