Illinois Fighting Illini vs Maryland Terrapins Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/08/26

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The Illinois Fighting Illini will travel to College Park on Sunday afternoon for a Big Ten Conference matchup against the Maryland Terrapins. It is the last day of the college basketball regular season and seeding for the high-major conference tournaments next weekend will officially be set. Maryland is slated to be the #16 or #17 seed in the league tournament, while Illinois will likely be the #4 seed with a win unless Iowa beats Nebraska to bring it up to the #3 seed. Maryland has endured a rough season under first-year head coach Buzz Williams, and a win here would bring great momentum needed into the postseason. Illinois is a large favorite in this one, but my best bet of the game is the under.

Both teams love to play at an extremely slow pace and I do not expect there to be enough possessions to carry the total over 146.5 points. The Illini boast one of the best offenses in the country, but they play so slowly that it doesn’t matter. Since February 1, both Illinois and Maryland are ranked in the 300s in adjusted tempo at Bart Torvik. Let’s roll with the under in this one.

Illinois vs Maryland prediction: Under 146.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to 145.

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