This Wednesday three are two matchups that pit the top two teams of major conferences square off. In the ACC, The Duke Blue Devils will try to clinch the regular season title when they travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins. In the Big 12, Kansas and Kansas State will renew their rivalry as K-State makes a late season push for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Duke Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2 1^st in ACC) @ Maryland Terrapins (21-7, 11-3 2^nd in ACC)

NCAA Basketball Odds: (*note lines are approximations as they have not been posted at the time of writing.)

Spread: Duke -1.5

Over/Under: 131

Money Line: Duke -135, Maryland + 110

Duke ran the Terrapins out of Cameron Indoor Arena on February 13^th 77-56. Coach K’s kids held the Terps to 37% shooting from the field including 2-13 from three point land. Maryland can’t afford to shoot that bad again if they want to come away with a win at home.

Maryland is led by senior guard Grevis Vasquez who averages 19.5 points, 6.4 assists and 4.8 rebounds a game. The Terps go as Vasquez goes. Freshman PF Jordan Williams has impressed (9.1 points, 8.4 rebounds) but was shutdown the last times these teams met.

Duke has three players averaging over 17 points a game. Senior guard Jon Scheyer leads the way for the Blue Devils with 18.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game. Juniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler are the other high-scoring Blue Devils and all are three point sharpshooters. Senior center Brian Zoubek had an incredible 16 points and 17 rebounds in the last meeting and will have to use his 7’1” size to his advantage again if Duke is to dominate.

Look for the Blue Devils to come away with the win as they are the class of the ACC in a down year for the league.

Final: Duke 78 – Maryland 71. Take Duke and the over.

Kansas Jayhawks (27-2, 13-1 1^st in Big 12) @ Kansas State Wildcats (24-4, 11-3 2^nd in Big 12)

Sportsbook Review : (*lines approximated)

Spread: Kansas -1

Over/Under: 148

Money Line: Off

The last time these two teams met it was a home game for the Jayhawks. Kansas needed overtime to finally put away the Wildcats 81-79 on January 30^th. This game has a lot of bearing on whether or not Kansas State will receive a #1 seed come tournament time. Currently they are on the outside looking in; however a win over Kansas would greatly improve their chances.

Kansas State is led by junior guard Jacob Pullen who is averaging 18.5 points and 3.8 assists a game. Pullen has 11 20+ point efforts this year. Senior guard Denis Clemente is a Puerto Rican import to the heartland of the United States and the former transfer student from the University of Miami is averaging 15.8 points and 4.1 assists a game. Red-shirt sophomore Jamar Samuels and UConn transfer Curtis Kelly are both averaging over 11 points and 5 rebounds a game (6 for Kelly). Kansas State has won seven straight since that OT loss at Kansas.

The Kansas Jayhawks are coming off a loss at Oklahoma State 85-77. It was Kansas first loss since January 10^th against Tennessee. Kansas is led by junior center Cole Aldrich (11.4 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks a game) and senior guard Sherron Collins (15.3 points, 4.3 assists). Freshman guard Xavier Henry has showed why he was the number one ranked freshman coming into the NCAA ranks this year with his 14 points and 4.2 rebounds a game not telling the whole story. Henry is a 6-6 athletic guard with great range and 40% 3PT shooting. Henry doesn’t turn the ball over a whole lot (2 per game) and has scored in double figures the last six games.

Expect to see another battle in this in state rivalry. Kansas needs to right the ship after losing to Oklahoma City and Kansas State is looking to make a statement and improve their seeding. I like K-State to get some revenge.

Final: Kansas State 78 – Kansas 73

Bet College Basketball:  Take K-State and the over.