NCAA Hoops Odds: Miami Hurricanes vs Virginia Cavaliers Preview & ACC Tournament Pick
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Miami at Virginia Matchup
Date: Thursday, March 10, 12:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
Broadcast: ESPN3.com
Hurricanes vs. Virginia lines from Sportsbook.com
Hurricanes: -3
Virginia: +3
Total: 121.5
Check Out Our Indepth CBB ATS Betting Stats For This Game —>
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The ACC Tournament has arrived. Everybody is dreaming of upsetting favorites North Carolina or Duke, but they’ll have to get through the first-round first. On Thursday, Miami takes on Virginia.
Virginia (16-14, 16-8 ATS) is seeded eight in the conference tourney, though Miami has been made the favorite. The Cavaliers have played well heading into the postseason, winning four of their past five games. There’s even better news; Virginia has been spectacular against the spread, going 7-2 ATS in its last nine games, including a 4-1 ATS run to close out the season.
The Cavs battled adversity after losing leading-scorer Mike Scott for the season after the forward suffered an ankle injury. Ball control and minimizing turnovers was crucial, and will be a major factor against Miami. Virginia is also getting some timely play from Sammy Zeglinski. The junior guard missed the first seven games of the year with an injury, but he’s seemingly rounding into form. Zeglinski enjoyed his second straight game scoring in double figures after burning Maryland for 25 points in the season finale.
Miami (18-13, 12-13-1 ATS) checks in as the tournament’s ninth-seed after struggling to find any consistency down the stretch. The Hurricanes are 3-4 in their past seven games, rotating between wins and losses each time. Results have been equally as frustrating against the spread, with Miami going 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 outings.
A crucial piece of the puzzle is sophomore center Reggie Johnson. Johnson, Miami’s third-leading scorer, was absolutely pathetic in the regular-season finale, finishing with just four points. He’ll need to be much, much better than that against Virginia.
In Miami’s 70-68 overtime win over Virginia earlier this year, for example, Johnson contributed 16 points and eight rebounds. Still, there’s no arguing the Cavaliers are carrying all the momentum into this one, and that can make all the difference in the world. It’s disconcerting Johnson and the Hurricanes looked so disinterested in their 66-57 loss to Georgia Tech that closed out the season.
Trends:
Over is 7-1 in MIAFL last 8 neutral site games.
MIAFL are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 Thu. games.
Under is 10-2 in MIAFL last 12 Thu. games.
VIRG are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 Thu. games.
Under is 12-5 in VIRG last 17 Thu. games.
Pick: Go with Virginia, which looks focused.
Ian Van Den Hurk has covered amateur and pro sports for years, including a successful run handicapping anything from football to mixed martial arts.