Dean Etheridge
Maryland hosts UCLA at the Xfinity Center on Wednesday night, and here we look ahead to what promises to be a tight match in our latest free NCAAB betting picks.
- Match; Maryland Terrapins vs UCLA Bruins
- Where; Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
- When; Wednesday, December 14th, 2022
- Start; 9 pm ET
These two sides are both ranked in the top 25 teams of college basketball, Maryland are 20, and UCLA is 16. And with two ranked sides, comes a tight call on the handicap, with some of the best college basketball betting sites not giving either team an advantage.
Speaking of the rankings, Purdue is now ranked number 1. Their spectacular form sees them rise three spots from 4th place, to the top position. The Boilermakers are 10-0 this season, with their most recent win coming over Nebraska last weekend.
Purdue did need overtime to see off the Cornhuskers, after seeing a 10 points half-time lead disappear in the second period. But in the end they came through overtime to keep their 100% record intact, eventually taking the match 65-62.
Just 7️⃣ remaining unbeaten teams.
Your Boilermakers are one of them. pic.twitter.com/x0EjXCKVYr
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 11, 2022
Latest NCAAB Championship winner betting
Purdue’s rise to the top of the rankings hasn’t been replicated in the betting to win the 2023 NCAA Basketball Championship. The favorites to win the championship are still Houston at +800, with Connecticut next at +1100. Texas follows closely behind at +1200, and then it’s Kentucky and newly ranked number one Purdue, who are both at +1600.
Maryland finds themselves down at +7500 to win the championship, with UCLA up at +2200. The best NCAAB betting sites clearly expect the Bruins to be the more serious contenders in the long run.
The above odds are taken from Bovada. You can read more about them at our Bovada sportsbook review, where you will find details about their latest new customer offers. More betting to win the championship can be found in our below odds table.
| NCAAB Tournament Winner Betting 2023 |  |  |  |
| Houston Cougars | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Connecticut | +1100 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Texas | +1200 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | +1600 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Purdue | +1600 | +1500 | +1500 |
| Baylor | +1800 | +1550 | +1600 |
| Duke | +1800 | +1600 | +1500 |
| Tennessee | +1800 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Arizona | +1800 | +2000 | +1800 |
| UCLA | +2200 | +2200 | +2000 |
| Maryland | +7500 | +7000 | +7000 |
Maryland looking to stop a losing streak
So far this season Maryland has an 8-2 record. Their most recent match was a 56-53 defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers last weekend. This was their second defeat in succession, coming on the back of a 64-59 loss at the hands of Wisconsin.
What makes these back-to-back losses all the more disappointing, is that Maryland started the season with eight wins in a row. But to be fair to the Terrapins, they’re not losing to bad sides here, and on both occasions, the losses were close runs.
UCLA looking for a sixth win in a row
As for the Bruins, they are also 8-2 this season. They’re on a winning streak of five, with their last defeat coming at home to Baylor, where they lost 75-80.
That defeat was immediately after a 9 point defeat away to Illinois (79-70), in which the Bruins conceded a remarkable 51 points in the second period, as they threw away a 9 point half time lead.
They’ve put that disappointment behind them now though, and have picked up five wins in a row since, including a 23 points win over Denver last weekend (87-64).
Maryland vs UCLA Betting and Picks
As we alluded to above, some of the best March Madness betting sites are calling this a scratch game, whilst some are giving UCLA a +1.5 points start. But by and large, there is pretty much nothing at all between these two sides in the betting odds.
Home advantage is playing a part, and I’d also say the recent form of Maryland is as well. A look down their fixtures shows a win over Illinois (71-66), and close defeats to Wisconsin (64-59), and Tennessee (56-53).
All three of those teams are ranked in the top 25, with Tennessee ranked as high as 6. In short, they are decent performances.
Will home advantage further swing things in the favor of Maryland? Quite possibly. One thing to bear in mind is I think Maryland would have a few points in their favor on the handicap if the fixture was taking place in Los Angeles.
Fortunately for the Terrapins it’s in Maryland, and this makes Kevin Willard’s team a more viable pick. Yes, I’m going with the home team here, and I make Maryland Terrapins my pick to win this match.
Expect a free scoring match
Moving onto the total points line, and Bovada makes it 141.5 points. Like the handicap marker, this is subject to change, and probably will before the match starts this evening.
In their last five matches, Maryland’s matches have only topped this mark on one occasion. That was in the 95-79 win over Coppin State. As for the Bruins, they’ve beaten the 141.5 mark twice in their last five. They have also come in bang on 141 on one occasion.
Rather than cancel each other out, I think this match will be all out attack. Both sides are in the top 20, and both will be looking to push themselves further up the rankings.
Given the form of Maryland, the Bruins will know they need to score heavily to have any chance of a win here. Therefore I can see them giving up plenty of chances for the Terrapins, and this is why I’m selecting over 141.5 points as my final betting pick.
