Maryland used its size advantage and rarely seen poise to overcome a double-digit deficit and defeat upstart Belmont. The Terrapins won't have that same go-to option against an LSU club that has size and speed of its own. The Tigers had a mostly comfortable win against Yale in the first round and are playing well despite the uncertainty surrounding Will Wade. The number looks just a tad light as the Tigers should be heading to the Sweet 16.

There aren't a lot of teams in the country with the size and strength to match up with LSU's Naz Reid in the paint, or the athleticism to follow him to the perimeter when he wants to. Maryland is one of them, though, thanks to Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith. Plus, while LSU is 2-1 without Will Wade, those two wins came against Vandy and Yale, and in the Yale win this was a team that struggled to close it out down the stretch. Just like it did against Florida in the SEC Tournament. I like Maryland straight up here, but I'm more comfortable with the points.

LSU is simply the better team in this matchup. Skylar Mays and Tremont Waters will be enough for the Tigers to beat Maryland. My simulations make LSU -3.5 favorites.

Maryland comes off a narrow win against Belmont, but the Terps haven't won back-to-back games in a month. They lost their first game in the Big Ten Tournament to an awful Nebraska squad and are now 7-7 in their last 14 (6-8 ATS). I'm going with the much more polished team, which is LSU.