The Maryland Terrapins take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, NJ. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
Rutgers is favored by 2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -152. The total is set at 143.5 points.
Here’s my Maryland vs. Rutgers predictions and college basketball picks for February 15, 2026.
Maryland vs Rutgers Prediction
My Pick: Under 143.5 (Play to 142)
My Maryland vs Rutgers best bet is on the under. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Maryland vs. Rutgers Odds
| Maryland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -110 | 143.5 -115 / -105 | +126 |
| Rutgers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -110 | 143.5 -115 / -105 | -152 |
- Maryland vs Rutgers spread: Rutgers -2.5
- Maryland vs Rutgers over/under: 143.5 points
- Maryland vs Rutgers moneyline: Maryland +126, Rutgers -152
Maryland vs Rutgers College Basketball Betting Preview
Maryland Basketball
Year one under Buzz Williams in College Park has been a season to forget, as the Terps sit at 10-14 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten. However, the Terrapins have impressively won back-to-back games, on the road vs. Minnesota and at home vs. Iowa.
So has Maryland actually turned a corner here?
Considering how bad this team looked from around Thanksgiving to last week, it’s difficult to get too excited about these two wins. But in year one for Williams, with some talented freshmen like Darius Adams and Andre Mills, Maryland is still building toward something.
The toughest blow for Williams and Maryland this season was the loss of Pharrel Payne back in mid-December. Payne was this team’s best player — a guy they could play through in the post and someone who could dominate the glass.
Without Payne, it’s been hard for the Terps to implement the Texas A&M “Buzz Ball” identity of crashing the offensive glass harder than anybody in the country.
One thing that’s for sure, though, is David Coit is absolutely electric. He can drift into hero ball at times and start chucking, but he’s been very effective in certain stretches. Coit has gone for two 40-point games this season and scored 48 points combined during this two-game win streak.
Defensively, this group ranks outside the top 150 nationally in efficiency. Opponents are shooting 37.4% from deep and 54.9% inside the arc against it.
Rutgers Basketball
Steve Pikiell had a good thing going at Rutgers from 2020-2023, but things have gotten progressively worse since — and this season has been the roughest.
The Scarlet Knights are 9-15 overall and 2-11 in the Big Ten. Of the many disappointing factors for this Rutgers team, the worst part is the loss of defensive identity. After Pikiell posted three top-six defenses in the country in a five-year span, Rutgers is down to 177th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Losers of seven straight games, the Knights have, however, been frisky at home. Three of their past five home games went to overtime, the first two of which were wins over Oregon and Northwestern. Rutgers also lost by just six at Iowa and three at USC, so this group has been a bit more competitive than its record implies.
NJIT transfer Tariq Francis is the go-to guy offensively, taking 37.7% of the team’s shots when he’s on the floor — the highest rate in the Big Ten. In three of Rutgers’ last four wins, he’s scored 30+, which it basically needs from him to win games.
Rutgers is last in the Big Ten in effective field goal percentage, defensive rebounding percentage and average 2-point attempt distance — an ugly metric profile for a team having a season to regret.
Maryland vs. Rutgers Betting Analysis
There's two plays I’m looking at here.
I like how this spot sets up for Rutgers because it's been competitive at home, and this is its best chance to finally end this losing streak. I expect the Scarlet Knights' best effort in this one.
The under is also worth a look, as both teams are in the bottom third of the league in tempo and have been consistently inefficient shooting the ball this season.
I trust the under a bit more, so I'll go that way.
My Pick: Under 143.5 (Play to 142)
