Colorado State vs Maryland Prediction: NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Preview

Jay Sanin on March 21st, 2025

Colorado State will face Maryland in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This Colorado State vs Maryland matchup is scheduled for Sunday, March 23, 2025. Both of these teams were impressive against tough competition in the opening round, but only one of them will punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a win in this matchup.

Before tip-off in Seattle, WA, the Terrapins are favored by 7.5 points. Meanwhile, online sportsbooks have set the total for this matchup at 142.5 points. Here, we look at this game from a betting perspective and determine where the value lies at the sportsbooks as Mountain West and Big Ten opponents square off.

Colorado State Hoping to Ram Their Way Into Sweet 16

The Colorado State Rams trailed at halftime against the Memphis Tigers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. But they stormed back in the second half to win 78-70. Before this game, the question for Colorado State is how their interior defense performs against a physically gifted Maryland team.

Colorado State struggled in the paint defensively in round one, allowing Memphis’ Dain Dainja to score 22 points and rack up several blocks. While Maryland’s bigs aren’t built similarly to Dainja, they are longer and could cause problems for a Colorado State team that doesn’t have a ton of height.

Can Maryland’s Crab Five Keep Rolling?

Maryland picked up a first-round win over Grand Canyon University on Friday afternoon to advance to the Round of 32. The Terrapins got off to a fast start offensively, building a lead that they did not relinquish. Here, they will look to get off to a similarly strong start to leave no doubt that they are the superior team and worthy of a spot in the last 16 of this tournament.

In this tournament, the ability to focus and deliver a consistently strong performance for 40 minutes is the key to avoiding upset losses. Fortunately for Maryland, their level of attention to detail has not wavered much in postseason play, both in the Big Ten tournament and early in the NCAA Tournament. As long as that continues, they will be expected to get a win and advance here.