-Odds.jpg "2016-Miami-at-North-Carolina-(CBS)-Odds")
Roy Williams admitted that he made a big mistake by not calling a timeout with his North Carolina Tar Heels having one last possession to try to beat the hated Blue Devils on Wednesday night. Now, UNC has to get back on the horse in a hurry in a game against the Miami Hurricanes which will put one of these teams in sole possession of first place in the ACC.
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SCHEDULING
Clearly, this is advantage Miami.
The Hurricanes haven't really played a big, big game in quite some time. Sure, they're on a nice run of results, but beating Virginia Tech, Florida State, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech isn't much to write home about. In fact, that victory in Tallahassee was the Canes' best road win of the season from the standpoint that it came against a team which at least might make the dance. This is a huge step up in competition, but with the way Miami is playing, we can't see it embarrassing itself on this stage.
North Carolina meanwhile, has to bounce back from what was a crushing loss at home. The Tar Heels always hate to lose to Duke no matter where the game is being played, but to lose at home as darn near double-digit favorites after leading by eight with under seven minutes to play has to really sting.
What's worse for the Heels is that this is their second to last home game of the year. Emotions should be running high, but it'd be easy to see there being a hangover from the Duke loss in this one as well. Live bettors should know the answer to that dilemma relatively early on this Saturday.
KEY MATCHUP
With Ivan Cruz Uceda basically falling out of favor, the Hurricanes have tried a smaller lineup of late. Kamari Murphy has played well for an undersized power forward, but there really has been a huge brunt put on Tonye Jekiri of late. The offensive production for these bigs for Miami just isn't there, but these men are going to have to play well on defense to have any shot to win this game.
The Tar Heels have struggled up front more than they probably should of late, and that's what's slowing them down offensively. Against Duke, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks were basically nowhere to be found. Let's not forget that the Dookies were playing with basically just the same five guys on the floor the whole game, and only Marshall Plumlee would even qualify as a power forward on that roster. Sure, Brice Johnson dominated with 29 points and 19 boards, but where were the rest of the bigs?
If North Carolina can't get a well-rounded effort out of its trees in the middle and stretch out this Miami defense, that will be the cue for live bettors to get ready to pounce.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
North Carolina has now played five straight under games dating back to the beginning of the month. That's a tremendous shock for a team which was 14-7 for over backers before this swoon, but it should also be noted that the Heels have fallen from over 85 points per game down to 83.4 in this run as well.
Miami has played four straight under contests, too.
The Canes have a huge split in their home and away stats for bettors. They're fantastic at 12-3-1 ATS either at home or on neutral courts, but in legit road games this year, live bettors should pay attention to that ugly 3-5 ATS mark.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Miami Hurricanes and North Carolina Tar Heels will go down Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. ET at the Dean E. Smith Center. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
