Miami vs. North Carolina NCAAB Preview
Where: Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
When: Thursday, March 9, 2017, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Miami Hurricanes (+7.5) at North Carolina Tar Heels (-7.5) – view all NCAA basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Writer’s Pick: Miami Hurricanes (+7.5)
College Basketball News and Previews
Betting on the Miami Hurricanes (21-10, 10-8 ACC)
After losing their last two regular season games to Virginia Tech (66-61) and Florida State (66-57), Miami just about avoided a first-round upset in the ACC tournament as they snuck by Syracuse, 62-57. Senior forward Kamari Murphy came up big with a season-high 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Canes, while leading scorer Davon Reed added 14 points.
Miami was a very good home team during ACC play this season. The Canes went 9-2, and beat both Duke and North Carolina. They handed the Tar Heels their heaviest defeat of the season in a 77-62 victory. Freshman Bruce Brown was the hero for the Canes in that game, as he erupted for a career-high 30 points. He also had 25 in their home win over Duke.
The Canes haven’t been nearly as impressive away from home, though. They went just 3-6 (4-5 ATS) in their nine ACC road games.
However, Miami has seemed to get the leg up on UNC over the past few years regardless of where they’ve played. Including its win earlier this season, Miami is now 5-2 (SU and ATS) in its last seven meetings against North Carolina.
Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels (26-6, 14-4 ACC)
With a full four days in between games, North Carolina should be ready and rested for its rematch against Miami. The Tar Heels finished the regular season winning five of their last six games, including a big 90-83 win over Duke in the finale.
Justin Jackson had a terrific conference this year, averaging 19 points against ACC foes. However, he’s currently in a bit of a slump. He’s shooting just 9-of-27 with 22 total points in his last two games. But encouragingly for the Tar Heels, Joel Berry made his presence felt with 28 big points against Duke.
UNC will need more of the same from Berry, who was a complete no-show in their first meeting with Miami. He finished 0-for-8 from the field and had a season-low 2 points. Jackson was the lone bright spot for the Tar Heels with 21 points as they shot just 35 percent from the field.
As good as the Miami defense can be at times, UNC’s offense (No. 4 per KenPom) is still better. It’ll be hard for the Canes to keep that unit quiet for consecutive games.
Writer’s Prediction
Miami can’t pull off another upset as North Carolina wins, 68-62. However, the Canes do enough to slow the Tar Heels down and cover the +7.5 spread.
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