Both the Miami Hurricanes and Virginia Tech Hokies will be out to prove they’re both viable threats for anyone that matches up with them in the ACC tourney when the team’s close out their regular season rivalry on Big Monday. The first meeting between these teams was very evenly matched with the Canes going on to victory due to forcing more turnovers. You can bet your bottom dollar Seth Allen and company will take better care of the rock this time around.
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Three straight wins and counting for the Hurricanes who went into Saturday’s tilt with the Blue Devils off a huge overtime win in Charlottesville to hand Virginia its fourth straight defeat. The win moved Miami to 4-4 straight up and 4-3 against the spread on the true road to date. As it stands right now, Miami is the No. 6 seed in the ACC tourney, but with so much still to be decided, they could leapfrog into the No. 2 slot should everything falls its way.
The loss of Chris Clarke and his 11.4 points per game were a huge blow to the team so late in the season. Since he tore his ACL versus the Cavaliers, VTECH has persevered in going 2-1 straight up and 2-0-1 against the spread with the push coming last time out against Clemson whom it defeated 71-70 as 1 point home favorites. The win moved Buzz Williams’ kids to 14-1 straight up and 5-5-1 against the spread as a host for the season.
Matchup to Watch
As good a rebounding team Miami is, it was certainly surprising to see the Hokies hang with them on the glass in the first go round. With Clarke out of commission, Zach LeDay is the only viable rebounder Virginia Tech currently has on its roster. He went for 10 in the first meeting to help the Hokies play to a 28-28 tie in the battle for the boards. He’s going to have to go even harder in this one to help alleviate Miami’s advantage with Clarke’s rebounding riding the pine.
Letdown Spot
Miami has Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils paying them a visit over the weekend. With them likely going all out in hopes of avenging an earlier season loss to them, it’s likely fatigue sets in late and hampers their ability to run with the Hokies for a full 40 minutes. If that turns out to be the case, you can expect Virginia Tech to kick it into overdrive in hopes of avenging its earlier season loss to the Hurricanes as well as improve upon its seeding for the upcoming ACC Tournament.
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As hot as the Hurricanes currently are, they don’t have the roster makeup or experience to continue upon this frenetic pace. The Duke game is their Super Bowl, and if they lose that game, it’s going to take a lot out of them. VTECH has been exceptional in front of its hometown faithful and will enter this tilt winners of four straight home games since falling to Notre Dame in the middle of January.
Look for Miami’s inability to get to the free throw line to come back to haunt them in this one. Virginia Tech shot 25 freebies to the Hurricanes 13 in the first go round, and that game occurred on Miami’s home court. With this meeting taking place in Blacksburg, the Hokies advantage at getting to the charity stripe will play a key role in determining this game’s outcome. That paired with Miami coming off the game with the Blue Devils has me leaning towards riding it out with one of the best home teams the ACC has to offer.
College Basketball Odds: Virginia Tech 77, Miami 70
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