College Basketball Odds January 29 – Maryland vs. Ohio State, Kentucky vs. Mizzou
Carrie Stroup here with your College Basketball odds for January 29 with previews for both Maryland vs. Ohio State and Kentucky vs. Mizzou. Place your 1st bet, get your 2nd bet FREE here.
MARYLAND TERRAPINS (18-3) at OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (16-5)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Ohio State -7, Total: 137.5
No. 16 Maryland looks for a big road victory in the Big 10 as the Terrapins travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State on Thursday night.
Maryland (7-10 ATS, 8-7 OVER) has been one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season, as the Terrapins have been very good in their first year in the Big 10. Two of the three losses for Maryland are against ranked teams (Virginia and Indiana), with only a loss to Illinois looking bad on the team’s tournament resume. The Terrapins made a statement in their first Big 10 game, as they went to East Lansing and picked up a 68-66 road victory in double overtime. The team did not play its best in a 68-67 victory over Northwestern, but Maryland has been very good bouncing back from a tough game (8-1 SU after ATS loss) this year.
Ohio State (9-10-1 ATS, 10-8-3 OVER) has been terrific at home this year, going 14-1 SU and 8-6 ATS. The lone loss was to Iowa, a team that has given the Buckeyes fits the past two years. In their last game, the Buckeyes looked dominant in a 19-point win against Indiana. If Ohio State is able to get the win, it would be the first time since Feb. 2014 that the team won consecutive games against top 25 teams.
The Terrapins had a lot of players transfer from their team, but the balanced offensive attack has helped the team rank 71st in scoring (72.5 PPG), 88th in rebounding (36.6 RPG), 118th in shooting (44.5% from the field) and 260th in assists (11.5 APG). There were some question marks on how good this Maryland team would be, but they have quickly silenced their doubters.
One player that Maryland coach Mark Turgeon knew he would have back is SF Dez Wells (13.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG), who brings toughness to the Maryland team. Wells, a Xavier transfer, made the game-winning shot against Northwestern on Sunday, tipping in the ball with 1.3 seconds remaining. On most nights, he guards the opposing team’s best player, and also shoots 50% from the 3-point line.
While he was a known commodity, freshman PG Melo Trimble (16.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 2.9 APG) has been better than advertised. He is an extremely confident player, and he has the ability to score from anywhere on the court (40% threes). At 6-foot-2, he has great size for the point guard position, and he is looking to attack his defender at any time.
F Jake Layman (14.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 51% from the field) is a versatile player who does a nice job of finding the mismatch. If teams are too worried about Trimble driving, Layman is fully capable of hitting the 3-point shot (40% threes). As a team, the Terrapins rank 48th in 3-point shooting (37.6%), making them very difficult to guard. The Terrapins also allow just 63 PPG, which ranks 97th in the country.
Thad Matta has one of the best offensive teams that he has ever had at Ohio State, as the Buckeyes rank high in many offensive categories. The Buckeyes rank 3rd in shooting (51% from the field), 13th in assists (16.8 APG), 16th in scoring (80 PPG) and 155th in rebounding (35.2 RPG).
SG D’Angelo Russell (19.4 PPG, 5.2 APG and 44% threes) has been incredible at the start of his freshman year, and him and Trimble could be in a competition for Big 10 player of the year. He was known as a scorer coming into college, but it has also been his passing that has made him a very difficult matchup for opposing defenses.
PG Shannon Scott (8.1 PPG, 6.7 APG and 2.0 SPG) is a guy who does a nice job of getting the Buckeyes into their offense and calming the team down when things get tough. As good as Maryland has been at hitting the 3-point shot, the Buckeyes have been even better (38.6% threes) which should mean this game will be a high-scoring shootout.
SG Marc Loving (11.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 50% threes) is one of the best shooters in the country, and he plays extremely well with Russell and Scott dominating the ball. He is another player that thrives in transition, so Ohio State will certainly be looking to create a lot of turnovers.
KENTUCKY WILDCATS (19-0) at MISSOURI TIGERS (7-12)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Kentucky -18, Total: 121
No. 1 Kentucky looks to improve to 20-0 on Thursday with a road win versus heavy underdog Missouri.
Kentucky was a 12-point favorite at South Carolina on Saturday and won 58-43 for its 19th straight victory. The Wildcats have now held their past four opponents to under 60 points (46.3 PPG) and they’ve covered in three of those contests. Meanwhile, the Tigers have now dropped five straight games after a 61-60 loss at home against Arkansas on Saturday. They covered the 6.5-point spread in that contest for their only ATS win in their past five games (1-3-1 ATS).
Kentucky played host when these two teams met on Jan. 13 and the Wildcats won that game 86-37 as 24-point favorites. These teams have met five times since 1997 with Kentucky winning every time and covering the four games that had lines. In last season's meeting in Columbia, the Wildcats won 84-79.
While being undefeated SU is impressive on its own, Kentucky is 3-1 ATS on the road this season, as it was favored in all four of those contests. Fifteen of its 19 games this season have finished Under the total. Missouri’s games have been on the low-scoring side as well, as it has now gone Under the total in four straight contests, but the school is 1-11 SU (4-7-1 ATS) in the underdog role this season.
Kentucky averages a strong 74.6 PPG on 45.7% FG (35.7% threes), but that is not where this team wins games. The Wildcats have been dominant defensively this season, allowing only 50.4 PPG (2nd in NCAA) thanks to a nation's-best 8.2 BPG leading to opponents making an NCAA-low 31.7% FG and 27.1% threes (8th in nation through Monday).
C Willie Cauley-Stein (9.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.8 BPG) and PF Karl-Anthony Towns (8.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.5 BPG) are the tandem that defends the rim for Kentucky. Cauley-Stein is one of the best athletes in college basketball and he provides this team with tons of energy on both ends of the floor. The freshman Towns is one of the prized NBA prospects in college basketball at the moment. He is an incredible shot blocker, but he has not been getting many touches offensively. Towns has now failed to reach double-digits in points in four of the past five games and the Wildcats will need to do a better job of getting him the ball when he has positioning. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in the win over Missouri on Jan. 13.
SG Aaron Harrison (11.6 PPG) led all scorers with 16 points in that game. Harrison has taken a huge step back this season and a lot of that has to do with his struggling outsider jumper (32% threes). His team will need him to start scoring more efficiently, so it’s going to be important that he starts to take better pride in his shot selection.
PG Tyler Ulis (5.6 PPG, 3.7 APG) had six points and six assists in the victory over South Carolina on Saturday. He is a major spark off the bench for this team and he should be seeing an increase in minutes going forward.
The Tigers have been pretty miserable as of late, losing five straight games, and a matchup with Kentucky isn’t going to necessarily excite the team. Missouri struggles offensively with just 63.2 PPG on 41.4% FG and 35.3% threes, which is an issue considering it will be facing one of the best defensive teams in basketball. Missouri's defense is also subpar, allowing 68.1 PPG on 41.7% FG and 33.8% threes. When these teams met on Jan. 13, the Tigers were held to just 16-of-59 FG (27.1%) and an embarrassing 1-of-18 from three-point range.
PF Johnathan Williams III (12.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG) is the Tigers’ leading scorer, but he was held to just three points on a dreadful 1-of-13 FG in the game against Kentucky. But Williams is coming off a 15-point, 10-rebound performance against Arkansas on Saturday, and Missouri will need him to play with that type of confidence in this one.
SG Montaque Gill-Caesar (10.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG) didn’t pay against Kentucky in their last meeting and could add some firepower for this team. He had 16 points against Arkansas and can be a lethal shooter once he gets himself going. He was 3-for-3 from downtown against the Razorbacks, and has shot it well from three all season with a 38% clip.
The last time these teams played, the Tigers had to turn to PF Keanau Post (3.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG) in order to try to match the size of Kentucky to an extent. Post responded well with 10 points and six rebounds, and there’s a good chance Missouri gives him some extended minutes in order to bang with Cauley-Stein and Towns.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
