College Basketball Picks Today: Round of 64 Continues on Friday

McNeese State and Drake gave us the first two big upsets in the Round of 64. Could we see more madness during the second day of the Round of 64?

Below, we cover two key games from tomorrow’s slate: Grand Canyon versus Maryland and Xavier versus Illinois.

Keep reading for our analysis and best college basketball picks for these two games!

The following odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Place a $5 wager at FanDuel Sportsbook and receive $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins.

No. 13 Grand Canyon @ No. 4 Maryland Odds

• Date: Friday, March 21

• Time: 4:35 pm EST

• Moneyline: Grand Canyon +440 | Maryland -610

• Spread: Grand Canyon +10.5 (-106) | Maryland -10.5 (-114)

• Total: Over 149.5 (-115) | Under 149.5 (-105)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Maryland -10.5 (-114) at FanDuel

Maryland is one of my dark horses to win the NCAA Tournament due to their well-rounded starting five that covers all bases on both ends of the floor: they shoot, rebound, and defend at an elite level.

The Terps are 12-3 in their past 15 games, losing by a combined seven points in that stretch. 

As a team, their attention to detail and peskiness defensively (30th in opponent turnovers; 27th in opponent eFG%) as well as their sharpshooting offensively (28th in 3P%) stand out.

Grand Canyon likes to play fast (15th in adjusted tempo) but that pace doesn’t negatively affect Maryland at all. 

The Terps actually dismantled Illinois, a team that also loves to play up-tempo, by double-digits in both of their meetings this season.

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Grand Canyon Prediction

Grand Canyon is among the fastest teams in the country and, as a result, ranks 53rd in points per game.

However, the offensive end of the floor (152nd in adjusted offensive efficiency) has ironically caused a ton of problems for the Lopes.

Sure, Duke Brennan is a double-double machine, and the combination of JaKobe Coles and Tyon Grant-Foster is formidable.

But, unfortunately, the Lopes turn the ball over a ton (316th in turnovers per game) and struggle to shoot from the perimeter (284th in 3P%).

It will take a near-perfect performance from Grand Canyon to win an NCAA Tournament game for the second consecutive season.

Maryland Prediction

Despite having one of the best starting units in the country this season, the Terrapins have largely flown under the radar on a national level. 

In fact, their starting five averages the most points per game in major conferences nationally. And they will likely roll with those five players as much as possible during the NCAA Tournament.

Surprisingly, the Terps are not often discussed as a legitimate championship contender; however, they rank 12th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin metric behind their top 25 offense and top 6 defense.

Maryland has an elite frontcourt duo with JuJu Reese and Derik Queen, while its backcourt of Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Selton Miguel, and Rodney Rice can shoot the ball as well as any trio of guards nationally.

No. 11 Xavier @ No. 6 Illinois Odds

• Date: Friday, March 21

• Time: 9:45 pm EST

• Moneyline: Xavier +128 | Illinois -154

• Spread: Xavier +3.5 (-115) | Illinois -3.5 (-105)

• Total: Over 159.5 (-115) | Under 159.5 (-105)

All odds are available via FanDuel Sportsbook but are subject to change.

PICK: Xavier ML (+128) at FanDuel

Xavier has the perfect make-up for a team that can upset the sixth-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini.

Illinois excels on the offensive glass due to its terrific size and talented frontcourt; however, the Musketeers are an elite defensive rebounding team, so they should be able to mitigate Illinois’ second-chance points.

Further, Xavier is the sixth-best 3-point shooting team in the country and has been firing at an even higher clip (44.1%) in its past three outings. 

The Fighting Illini do not have a very good perimeter defense, so expect the Musketeers to light it up from deep.

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Xavier Prediction

Xavier has its flaws as a team but defensive rebounding and 3-point shooting do not qualify for them.

The Musketeers are the sixth-best 3-point shooting team in the country behind Ryan Conwell, Marcus Foster, and Dante Maddox Jr, who all shoot above 40% from deep.

Additionally, power forward Zach Freemantle leads Xavier on the glass, bringing in seven rebounds per game.

As a team, the Musketeers rank 25th in defensive rebounding percentage this season, and have been even better in this area recently.

Illinois Prediction

The Fighting Illini have had a volatile season, appearing to be a Big Ten contender at the beginning of the year but failing to maximize on their potential.

Illinois is an elite rebounding team, with Tomislav Ivisic, Kasparas Jakucionis, Morez Johnson Jr, Tre White, and Kylan Boswell all averaging at least five rebounds per game. 

However, the disparity between opponent’s 3-point shooting against them and their own 3-point shooting has often plagued the Fighting Illini throughout their 2024-25 campaign.

If Illinois wants to make a deep NCAA Tournament run, it will have to knock down perimeter shots and lock down defensively, an area where it was once dominant earlier this season.