No. 13 Maryland Men's Basketball vs Bryant Prediction, Preview
Date & Time: Sunday, December 28, 2019, 12PM EST
Location: Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland
TV Channel: BTN
Maryland Terrapins (10-2) men's basketball team has been in a major slump after winning the first 10 games on their schedule.
They have lost the past two games against Penn State and Seton Hall. The Terps have dropped in the rankings from No. 3 to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll the last few weeks and are expected to continue falling.
To make matters worse, the Terps have also lost Makhi and Makhel Mitchell to the transfer portal. This will significantly weaken the Terps' play defensively in the rebound category. Head coach Mark Turgeon must rally his team in hopes to get back on track against a hot Bryant Bulldogs (8-4) team.
Get to know the opponent
HC Jared Grasso
Grasso has not led a team to a winning record in his short three-year career as a head coach. In the 2009-10 season as the coach of Fordham, his team struggled mightily with a 1-22 record. Things were not much better when he was hired by Bryant last year, when the Bulldogs finished with a 10-20 record. However, Grasso's fortunes have turned for the better as the Bulldogs are currently on a four-game winning streak and are in first place in the Northeast conference.
G Adam Grant
The senior guard from Virginia is one of the highest scoring players in the nation, averaging 18.5 points per game. He is currently tied for the team lead with Ikenna Ndugba in steals (1.3 per game) and is a big reason why the Bulldogs are on a roll.
F Hall Elisias
Elisias has averaged 3.08 blocks per game, which is 11th-best in all of college basketball. The 6-foot-7 230-pound forward from New York might not be much of a scorer but has an impressive 60 percent field goal percentage. He is most effective defensively where he averages 1.1 steals and 6.3 rebounds. He is the Bulldogs' best overall defender.
F Patrick Harding
Harding might be the strongest, most-physical player on the team. He leads the Bulldogs in rebounds (10.4 average) as well as field goal conversions (62.2 percent). Especially since the Terrapins lost the Mitchell twins to the transfer portal, this should give Harding and the Bulldogs a significant boost in the rebound category.
Prediction
The Bulldogs have a good chance at pulling off an upset against the Maryland Terrapins at the Xfinity Center. If they defeat Maryland, this would be Bryant's first victory against a ranked opponent. Anthony Cowan and Jalen "Stix" Smith have to play up to their potential to defeat a underrated Bulldogs team. Maryland should be playing angry and be more determined than ever to get back on the winning track. A slow start should be expected again for the Terrapins but Maryland will show why they are on of the best college basketball teams in the nation this Sunday.
