Maryland vs Northwestern Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 26 (Defensive Battle Breaks Out in College Park)

Maryland vs Northwestern Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• Maryland (19-9, 10-7 Big Ten) vs. No. 21 Northwestern (20-8, 11-6 Big Ten)
• Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023
• Time: 12:00 PM ET
• Venue: Xfinity Center -- College Park, Maryland
• Coverage: BTN

The 2022-23 college basketball season continues on Sunday with an exciting matchup between the No. 21 Northwestern Wildcats and Maryland Terrapins. Northwestern saw its five-game winning streak snapped with a 66-62 loss to Illinois on Thursday. Boo Buie logged a team-high 35 points.

Meanwhile, Maryland took down the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 88-70 in its most recent game on Wednesday. Hakim Hart scored 20 points, while Julian Reese posted a double-double (21 points & 12 rebounds). Which Big Ten squad will earn a valuable win on Sunday afternoon?

Maryland vs Northwestern Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: MD: (-280) | NWSTRN: (+225)
• Spread: MD: -6.5 (-110) | NWSTRN: +6.5 (-110)
• Total: 129.5 -- Over: (-115) | Under: (-105)

Maryland enters this contest as a notable home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 12 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 129.5 points, which is below average compared to Sunday's projected totals.

Maryland vs Northwestern Betting Trends

• Maryland's record against the spread is 17-11-0.
• Against the spread as 6.5-point favorites or more, the Terrapins are 7-4.
• There have been 10 Maryland's games (out of 28) that went over the total this year.
• Northwestern's record against the spread is 18-10-0.
• The Wildcats have an ATS record of 3-1 as 6.5-point underdogs or more.
• This year, 10 of Northwestern's 28 games have hit the over.

Maryland Rank	Maryland AVG		Northwestern AVG	Northwestern Rank
189th	71.1	Points Scored	68.3	266th
27th	63	Points Allowed	62	19th
159th	32.1	Rebounds	31.9	171st
158th	8.8	Off. Rebounds	8.7	173rd
283rd	6.4	3pt Made	7.7	144th
313th	11.4	Assists	13	186th
32nd	10.3	Turnovers	9.3	8th

Maryland vs Northwestern Prediction & Pick

Both of these teams are playing their best basketball of the season when it matters the most. The Wildcats and Terrapins have combined to post a 21-13 conference record and each own an average scoring margin of at least +6.3 on the season. That's why home-court advantage is crucial on Sunday.

Maryland has posted a stellar 15-1 record at the Xfinity Center thanks to an average of only 61.8 points allowed per game. The Terrapins' defense holds its opponents to a shooting percentage of just 42.0% on the year (no. 66 in NCAA) and tallies 4.1 blocks per home game as well. They've been great.

Maryland has also won five of its last six home games against Northwestern, so back the Terrapins.

Final Score Prediction: Maryland: 65 | Northwestern: 62

Maryland vs Northwestern Best Bet

It's already been touched upon how well Maryland's defense has played this season. Keep in mind Northwestern has been even better, though, allowing only 62.0 points per game (No. 17 in NCAA) on an opponent shooting percentage of 40.8% (No. 27 in NCAA). This is going to be a low-scoring battle.

The Wildcats and Terrapins each rank outside the top 290 teams in possessions per game. The total has hit the under in each of Northwestern's last seven games overall and in 13 of Maryland's last 20 games overall. The under has cashed in five of the Terrapins' last seven Sunday home games, too.

Bet: Under 129.5 Points (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.