Maryland AT Georgia Tech
Jan 30, 2011 at 7:45 PM EST
Opening Line: Maryland -3
Current Line: Maryland -1.5
Opening Total: 139.5
Current Total: 140
Opening Moneyline: Maryland -140 / Ga Tech +120
Current Moneyline: Maryland -125 / Ga Tech +105
Tonight’s game brings together ACC rivals the Maryland Terps against the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. Both teams are playing decent ball, with Maryland clocking in at 13-7 and Georgia Tech a game over .500 at 10-9, and they are both tied in ACC play with a 3-3 conference record for both teams.
Maryland has clearly been the better team through this point in the season. Their win differential is +13.7 as they score 76.8 a game and only give up 63.1. Georgia Tech has a positive win differential of +4.4, scoring 70.9 and giving up 66.5. The combinative totals of the teams’ offensive output is 146.8, suggesting that a bet on the ‘over’ may be a prudent bet to make.
Some betting trends:
Maryland is 6-3 SU in their last 9 road games and the total has gone UNDER in 5 of their last 5 road games. The’y are 4-2 SU in their last 6 road games against Georgia Tech and the total has gone OVER in 4 of those 6 games.
Georgia Tech is 20-3 SU in their last 23 home games and they are 1-9 SU in their last 10 against the Terps. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Georgia Tech’s last 6 games against Maryland and Georgia Tech is 2-4 SU in their last 6 home games against the Terps.
Maryland is led by 6’10” sophmore Jordan Williams, who is averaging 17 points per game and 11.8 board a game. He is also averaging over a block a game with 1.2 blocks per night. He’s scored in double figures in all but two of Maryland’s games, but one of them was the last game against Virginia, who took him out of his element and allowed him only 5 field goal attempts in 32 minutes. He’s also had a double double in all but 3 games and his best game of the year was the second game against the College of Charleston when he scored 26 points and grabbed 15 boards in a 1 point Maryland victory. The only other Maryland player to average double figures in points is 6’6″ senior Cliff Tucker who puts up 11.7 a game. He’s an effective three point shooter (39.7%) and he has been relatively steady and consistent, with no real big games and only 4 games with under 10 points.
Georgia Tech is led by 6’5? junior guard Iman Shumpert, who posts averages of 16.5 points per game, 3.4 assists per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 2.5 steals per contest. He’s effective at getting to the basket and averages 5.2 free throw attempts per game. Over his last three games he is averaging 23 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game, including a 30 point game in a win over UNC on January 16th. They also get big contributions from Glen Rice Jr., a 6’5? sophomore son of NBA legend Glen Rice. He’s not quite the shooter his father was, but he does average 12.9 points in 28 minutes a game and is still developing. In his freshman season he shot 46.7% from three, but had a small sample size of 60 attempts on the year. Georgia Tech’s only other big cog in the machine is 6’6? sophomore swingman Brian Oliver. Oliver is second on the team in minutes played and averages 10.6 points per game. He’s having a horrible year from behind the arc, having gone 32 of 105. He’s already had two games with 11 attempted threes, though, so he’s not afraid to fire away from downtown.
Tonight’s game should be a good one between the two rivals. Maryland is slightly favored by college basketball oddsmakers, but Georgia Tech is a very good home team.
