COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins signals to his players in the first half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The No. 6 seed Maryland Terrapins (22-10; Big Ten at-large) will take on the No. 11 seed Belmont Bruins (27-5; Ohio Valley Conference at-large) in an East Region Round of 64 matchup at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida as the NCAA Tournament begin on Thursday afternoon.
The game is scheduled to start around 3:10 p.m. ET (following conclusion of Yale vs LSU) and will be televised on TruTV. But if you don’t have cable, you can sign up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services that allow you to watch TruTV on your computer, phone or streaming device:
FuboTV
FuboTV
TruTV is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), allowing you to watch every NCAA tournament game.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include TruTV. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), allowing you to watch every March Madness game.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
Hulu
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including TruTV. Also included are TNT, TBS and CBS (live in select markets), meaning you can watch every other NCAA tournament game.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Maryland vs Belmont Preview
Belmont earned this opportunity by defeating the Temple Owls 71-60 in a First Four Game on Tuesday night. The Bruins, a team that was firmly on the bubble before Selection Sunday, solidified the Selection Committee’s decision to bestow them with an at-large berth.
The Terrapins are led by head coach Mark Turgeon. Turgeon, now in his eighth season with the program, is making his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the Terrapins (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019). The best finish during Turgeon’s tenure was a Sweet 16 finish in 2015-16, where they ultimately fell 79-63 to No. 1 seed Kansas. The Bruins are led by head coach Rick Byrd, now in his 33rd season with the program.
Maryland was efficient to begin the regular season, but more or less struggled down the stretch. The Terrapins lost seven of their final 13 games, including a 69-61 loss to Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament. Despite a 14-point win against No. 12 Purdue on February 12, that wasn’t enough for Maryland to grab a higher-seed, something that seemed possible earlier this season.
Maryland center Bruno Fernando is aware that the NCAA Tournament is a different animal, specifically about how teams have to prepare on a game-by-game basis, and against teams they weren’t even close to familiar with during the regular season.
“Going from the regular season to the Big Ten tournament, you’re playing teams that you’ve already played twice and they know almost everything about our system. So now we get to go and play teams that we don’t know much about them and they don’t know much about us.
It’s going to be a completely different game, and we’ll get a chance to do a lot of things that we weren’t able to do against teams that know us so much. It’s a different season, it’s a new season.”
Maryland will have to contain Belmont’s star player, 6-foot-8 senior guard Dylan Windler. Windler averaged a double-double this season entering Thursday, posting 20.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He also headlines a roster that led the nation in assists this season, and are known for being an exceptional passing team.
The winner of Maryland-Belmont takes on the winner of Yale-LSU (No. 14 vs. No. 3) on Saturday in the Round of 32.