The Rutgers Scarlet Knights take on the Maryland Terrapins in College Park, MD. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
Maryland is favored by 9.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -520. The total is set at 151.5 points.
Here’s my Rutgers vs. Maryland predictions and college basketball picks for February 9, 2025.
Rutgers vs Maryland Prediction
My Pick: Maryland -11 or Better
My Rutgers vs Maryland best bet is on the Terps spread, with the best odds currently available at FanDuel. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Rutgers vs Maryland Odds
| Rutgers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -105 | 151.5 -105o / -115u | +385 |
| Maryland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -115 | 151.5 -105o / -115u | -520 |
- Rutgers vs Maryland spread: Maryland -9.5
- Rutgers vs Maryland over/under: 151.5 points
- Rutgers vs Maryland moneyline: Maryland -520, Rutgers +385
- Rutgers vs Maryland best bet: Maryland -11 or Better
Spread
I'm backing the Terps to cover as big home favorites.
Moneyline
I'm passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm passing on the over/under.
My Pick: Maryland -11 or Better
Rutgers vs Maryland College Basketball Betting Preview
I love this Maryland team and I think this is a fantastic bounce-back spot for the Terps returning home following a tough road loss to Ohio State.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights have been up-and-down all year, and this is a solid letdown spot for them heading on the road after a monster home upset over Illinois.
Rutgers beat Illinois because the Illini fell in love with the 3 again and couldn’t hit a shot (6-for-28, 21%).
But Maryland won’t do that. The Terps will cut, roll and post their way to interior buckets, pounding the ball inside and testing Rutgers’ sketchy interior defense (1.18 at-the-rim points per shot allowed, 28th percentage, per Synergy).
Dylan Harper is a killer in ball screens, and Ace Bailey could earn a ton of tough buckets against Maryland’s drop-coverage defense.
But, ultimately, the Terps are an elite ball-screen coverage unit (.80 PPP allowed, 88th percentile, per Synergy), an elite transition defense (.91 PPP allowed, 91st percentile, per Synergy) and an excellent isolation defense (.68 PPP allowed, 83rd percentile, per Synergy).
I trust the Terps to cover the Harper-Bailey actions at home on Sunday.
And I don’t trust Harper and Bailey as perimeter defenders — specifically Harper, who's been burned as a ball-screen point-of-attack defender this season. Ja'Kobi Gillespie is a very efficient ball-screen operator who could burn Rutgers all night long in those sets.
I think Maryland will beat Rutgers convincingly on Sunday, and I’m willing to lay double-digits with a Terps team that keeps trending upward.
