The Maryland Terrapins (27-8) will face the Florida Gators (32-4) in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in San Francisco, CA.
Florida advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 77-75 win over the two-time defending champion UConn Huskies. Walter Clayton Jr. was 5-8 from three-point range and finished with 23 points to lead the Gators. Florida’s team as a whole shot 46% from the field (23-50) while their defense limited the Huskies to 37.5% shooting from the field (24-64). A deeper dive finds that UConn from deep was just 8-29 (27.6%) while Florida was 9-19 (47.4%) from beyond the arc.
Maryland secured their spot with a thrilling 72-71 win over Colorado State. Freshman Derik Queen supplied the heroics with a last-second runner from just outside the lane. It was just the fourth time in 11 games that the Terps were able to win a game decided by five or fewer points. Maryland got off to a woeful start in this one and trailed by seven at the half before rallying late. All five starters reached double figures for the Terps led by Queen’s 17 points.
A couple of questions to consider as you breakdown this matchup: Can Maryland slow down Florida’s offense? And Because Maryland gets minimal production from its bench, can their starting five withstand the pressure the Gators apply on defense?
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Maryland vs. Florida
- Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025
- Time: 7:39PM EST
- Site: Chase Center
- City: San Francisco, CA
- Network/Streaming: TBS / truTV
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Updated Game odds for Maryland vs. Florida
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Maryland Terrapins (+220), Florida Gators (-275)
- Spread: Gators -6.5
- Total: 156.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Maryland vs. Florida
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) expects the Gators to roll over the Terps: Florida Gators -6.5
“Numbers say Maryland can keep this competitive because of how stout they are on the defensive side of the basketball. They are fifth in defensive efficiency and ranked sixth in defensive KenPom. However, they’ve only played one team ranked inside of the top 1- in offensive efficiency this season. It was a game where they lost to the Purdue Boilermakers and they gave up more than 80 points. Another pain point I have with the Terrapins is their lack of depth. They run about a seven-man rotation. In their game against Colorado State only six players saw more than 10 minutes. This Gators team is efficient on offense, they are big and physical, and more importantly, they are deep. They had the close call against UCONN, which I think sparks them to start early in this game. I like the Gators to cover the 6.5-points.”
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s Terrapins & Gators game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play ATS on Florida -6.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 155.5.
Maryland vs. Florida: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Maryland is 1-1 against the spread in the NCAA Tournament and 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games
- Game Totals in Maryland games have cashed to the UNDER in 6 of the Terps’ last 8 games (1-6-1)
- Game Totals in Florida games have cashed to the OVER in 9 straight Florida games
- Florida is 0-2 against the spread in the NCAA tournament but 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
