Tuesday NCAA: Maryland (14-7) at North Carolina (19-2)
Maryland coach Gary Williams got a vote of confidence on Monday, which he might need when his Terps face No. 4 North Carolina on Tuesday night.
The Heels have opened as are 21.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Maryland AD Debbie Yow said Monday that she wanted to address “crazy rumors that are floating around related to the job security of Coach Williams.”
Williams has been bickering with the school’s athletic department last week over the loss of two recruits just as Maryland was in the middle of a slump in which it had lost four of five conference games. The Terps broke a two-game losing streak that included a 41-point loss to Duke when they beat Miami, 73-68, at home Saturday.
“He has my personal full support, as he does from the department and from the university,” Yow said, apparently meaning that Williams won’t be losing his job (he has 3 ½ years left on his contract, which no doubt plays a role).
And while Maryland looks like it has no shot tonight, know this: Dating back to the start of the 2006-07 college basketball season, North Carolina has beaten every ACC opponent at least once. Well, every ACC opponent but one – Maryland.
Yep, the turtles have beaten Carolina the previous two seasons, including last year in Chapel Hill.
“You admit to yourself this is a very good team and you have to play well. But you depend on the fact that you can execute well enough to beat good teams, and that’s how we’ve gone in there and gone into other places and won big road games,” Williams said.
Maryland has eight wins win in 22 visits to the Dean Smith Center. Only Duke (10) has won there more times as a visitor. But good luck tonight to 6-foot-7, 263-pound Maryland forward Dave Neal, who will draw the defensive assignment on Tyler Hansbrough, the ACC’s leading scorer at 22.4 points a game.
The Terps lost two senior big men from last year – Bambale Osby and James Gist – who where the driving forces behind the team’s unexpected victory last season. They combined for 34 points, with Osby scoring the game winner while limiting Hansbrough to just 17.
Plus this year’s Maryland team has yet to win on an opponent’s court. The Heels have won five straight games and look like the preaseason No. 1 team that it was. The Tar Heels rank second in Division I with 92.4 points per game.
WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Terrapins are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Terrapins are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a S.U. win.
* Terrapins are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 road games.
* Terrapins are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Terrapins are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Tuesday games.
* Terrapins are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 vs. Atlantic Coast.
* Terrapins are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win.
* Tar Heels are 30-14 ATS in their last 44 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Tar Heels are 39-19-1 ATS in their last 59 games following a ATS win.
* Tar Heels are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 vs. Atlantic Coast.
* Tar Heels are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games.
* Tar Heels are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following a S.U. win.
* Tar Heels are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
* Tar Heels are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
* Tar Heels are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400.
* Over is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings.
* Home team is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
* Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in North Carolina.
* Underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
NCAA Basketball Betting at WagerWeb.com
