Two of the ACC’s mid-tier teams will square off on Saturday afternoon with the winner moving to above .500 in conference play.
The Virginia Tech Hokies got the big win they needed last week against North Carolina. Virginia Tech came into the game as a decent home underdog, but led the Tar Heels from start to finish for its biggest win yet this season.
As for the Miami Hurricanes, they finally got the big win they were hoping for by knocking off Louisville last week. However, they followed that up with a tough overtime loss on the road against Florida State.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, February 3, 2018, at 2 p.m. ET at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Under Jim Larranaga, the Hurricanes have experienced a resurgence as a basketball program. He has led Miami to a 154-74 record during his seven years on campus, and typically the reason for the team’s success has been its defense.
The defense has not been there in recent weeks though. Miami has given up at least 72 points in each of its last six games, and unsurprisingly, all six went over the total. That’s been an interesting trend to follow, and we’ll see how long it holds up.
Everything has come in twos for Virginia Tech over the past six weeks. The Hokies have won two, lost two, won two, lost two, and won two. They won their last two games against North Carolina and Notre Dame, despite being underdogs in each one.
Over has been a great bet in Virginia Tech games this year. The over has cashed in five of the last six, and is 12-5 overall.
Key Stat
Only one team is more efficient than Virginia Tech is from the field this season. The Hokies have been incredible at finding the right shot all year long. Even though they are now playing against the toughest conference in the country, the gameplan is still working night in and night out.
Virginia Tech has six main rotation players, and each one of the six has been a very good shooter. Each player is hitting at least 46 percent from the floor, with four of the six hitting better than 51 percent.
What makes this team really dangerous though is its ability to hit the triple. Four of the five starters are shooting 40 percent or better from behind the arc. That’s awfully impressive.
Player to Watch
Anthony Lawrence II has really come along as a complementary player for the Hurricanes. It might be unfair to call him that considering he is averaging over 30 minutes a game, but he doesn’t get a lot of the attention.
We have seen impressive things out of Lawrence over the last few weeks. The tall guard has proven to be an excellent shooter, lighting up defenses left and right. At 6’7, he is able to shoot over almost anyone the opposing team throws at him. That is sure to help Miami come tournament time, as he is hitting 49.1 percent of his threes on the year.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
It should be fascinating to see what happens when Virginia Tech is on offense. Although Miami has struggled on defense recently, this is still one of the top units in the country. The Hurricanes’ tall guards can shut down passing lanes with their arms and force turnovers out of the Hokies.
In the end though, I expect Virginia Tech to prevail, but not by much. It’s hard to back Miami until it proves it can pick up a nice road win.
College Basketball Odds: Virginia Tech 74, Miami 70
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