It's a battle of two first-year coaches at these schools when the Maryland Terrapins face off with the Virginia Cavaliers.
The pair have gotten off to vastly different starts to their seasons as Cavaliers coach Ryan Odom has guided his team to a 9-1 start.
Meanwhile, Buzz Williams' group has struggled to start the year, dropping five of its 11 games. It's been a long layoff for both teams, so they should come into this matchup with renewed energy.
I break down the matchup in my Maryland vs Virginia predictions and college basketball picks for Saturday, December 20.
Maryland vs Virginia prediction
Maryland vs Virginia best bet: Virginia -14.5 (-110)
It's jarring to see a Buzz Williams team sitting outside the top 100 in rebounding. For most of his career, the glass has been the foundation: extra possessions, second-chance scoring, and a built-in way to survive nights when the half-court offense gets sticky.
When that advantage isn't there, it's harder to pin down the Maryland Terrapins' identity, and it becomes even more concerning when they're also allowing opponents to post an eFG% north of 55%.
Some of that should regress in a friendlier direction over time, but the overall profile has still been ugly, and it puts a lot of pressure on the offense to be cleaner than it's been.
We're also getting close to the point in the season where preseason priors matter less, and the resume matters more. When you lean into the current body of work at BartTorvik, this projects closer to the Virginia Cavaliers -21, which is in the ballpark of my number as well.
The matchup concern is how Maryland defends drive-and-kick actions and sharp perimeter cutting. They've struggled with both, allowing roughly 0.96 points per possession in those areas, and that's a problem against a Virginia offense that's fairly elite at both actions.
On the other side, the Terps remain offensively challenged, and that's directly related to their inability to rebound. Second-chance creation has been a key tenet of Buzz Williams' coaching career; without it, his teams have naturally looked lost.
It's hard to see a clean path for Maryland to compete until the rebounding returns or the shot quality improves significantly. I'd play this to -16.5.
Maryland vs Virginia same-game parlay
Maryland vs Virginia SGP
- Virginia -14.5
- Johan Grunloh Over 6.5 rebounds
- Thijs De Ridder Over 1.5 assists
Our beyond the arc SGP: Belgian Hammer!
De Ridder has scored 17 or more points in five of Virginia's 10 games, and with Maryland's less-than-stellar defense, De Ridder should regain his scoring touch and light up the Terrapins.
Maryland vs Virginia SGP
- Virginia -14.5
- Johan Grunloh Over 6.5 rebounds
- Thijs De Ridder Over 1.5 assists
- Thijs De Ridder Over 16.5 points
Maryland vs Virginia odds
- Spread: Maryland +16.5 (-110) | Virginia -16.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Maryland +900 | Virginia -1600
- Over/Under: Over 154.5 (-110) | Under 154.5 (-110)
Maryland vs Virginia betting trend to know
Virginia has hit the 1H Game Total Over in 21 of their last 31 games (+10.60 Units / 30% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Maryland vs. Virginia.
How to watch Maryland vs Virginia
| Location | John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA |
| Date | Saturday, December 20, 2025 |
| Tip-off | 6:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Maryland vs Virginia key injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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