The No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels hit the road again after two-straight home games. They will face next the wobbling Miami Hurricanes, who are looking to build on their win at home against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons last weekend. The Tar Heels are +1,500 to be the last team standing this season, while the Hurricanes are +50,000 to top the national tournament.
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Betting Preview for the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Miami Hurricanes College Basketball Game on January 19, 2019
Where: Watsco Center, Miami
When: Saturday, January 19, 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Line: North Carolina Tar Heels (odds) vs. Miami Hurricanes (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels (13-4 Overall / 3-1 Conference)
The Tar Heels seems to have lost some of their mojo when they got stuffed with a 21-point loss in Chapel Hill by the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday, 83-62. Following that loss, the Tar Heels nearly got upset by Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a 75-69 win. North Carolina shot unusually bad from the field against the Fighting Irish, making only 39.7 percent of their attempts from the floor. Although they were not able to crush Notre Dame in a manner they wanted to, that victory must have at least slightly boosted the Tar Heels’ morale. One thing that remained the same for the Tar Heels in that outing was their dominance on the glass. They outrebounded Notre Dame, 47-36. They hauled down 16 offensive rebounds, compared to only seven by their opponents. The Tar Heels are third in the nation with 87.4 points per game and tops overall in rebounds with 44.8 boards per contest – 10.0 rebounds more than Miami.
The Tar Heels are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last five road games.
Betting on the Miami Hurricanes (9-7 Overall / 7-2 Conference)
The Hurricanes finally broke into the win column in conference play after ending a three-game losing skid with a 76-65 trouncing of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at home last Saturday. Chris Lykes put up a huge performance for the Hurricanes, scoring 25 points. Lykes went 5-for-11 from the field and sank all of his 14 free throw attempts. Ebuka Izundu, meanwhile, tallied his third double-double in four games, racking up 11 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists, a steal, and a block against Wake Forest. Lykes and Izundu should have plenty of opportunities to score against North Carolina’s defense that is ranked just 189th in the nation with 73.2 points allowed per game. One player Miami needs to wake up is Zach Johnson, who is averaging 13.4 points per game, but has only put up a total of 14 points on a horrid 4-for-18 shooting from the field in the last two Miami games.
The under is 8-2 in Miami’s last 1o home games.
Writer’s Prediction
North Carolina wins, 79-70.
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