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Perhaps the best matchup of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will go down in the second part of ESPN2’s Wednesday night doubleheader when the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the Miami Hurricanes. Richard Pitino is proving to be a chip off the old block and has the Golden Gophers off to a 7-0 start. The Golden Gophers will look to keep that undefeated record intact when they host the Miami Hurricanes this weekend. Miami has played an extremely weak schedule, but came into the season highly ranked and has yet to trip up.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, November 29, 2017, at 9:15 p.m. ET at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Wednesday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Minnesota’s last game gave us one of the craziest endings you will ever see in a college basketball game. With over 13 minutes left in the second half and the Golden Gophers up by seven, a fracas led to Alabama’s entire bench being ejected. Dazon Ingram drew his fifth foul in the affair and that led to Alabama having to play five-on-four. Unfortunately, then John Petty suffered an injury and the Crimson Tide were left to finish the game with just three men. Incredibly, Alabama still scored 55 points in the second half and only lost by five.
We have yet to see the Hurricanes play a quality opponent. The Hurricanes are going to play one of the weakest non-conference schedules in the country and probably won’t face another tournament team outside of the Golden Gophers. Miami has won all five of its games by double digits and the defense has yet to allow more than 65 points.
Player to Watch
Jordan Murphy has been very good for Pitino and the Golden Gophers this season. Murphy has been a major contributor ever since arriving on campus two years ago and is putting together his best season yet.
He has been lights out from the floor, hitting 64.4 percent of his field goals, and has been remarkably efficient. Despite fouling out in the game against the Crimson Tide, Murphy has tallied a double-double in all seven games so far this season.
Murphy isn’t just an offensive powerhouse either. Over his last four games, he has registered seven blocks and nine steals and that has helped this team get some fast break chances. Miami will need to stop him if it wants to pull off the upset here.
Matchup to Watch
These are two of the best rebounding teams in the nation and it should be fascinating to see which side wins the rebounding war. Miami is averaging 41 rebounds per game but is doing it against inferior competition. The leading rebounder right now is 6’5 guard Bruce Bowen Jr. and he won’t have the same success on the glass he is having now in this one. However, the Hurricanes do have some very tall guards so that helps the rebounding out immensely.
Murphy is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game for the Golden Gophers and this team as a whole is pulling down 44 boards a night. Unlike Miami, this team does have some real size and big bodies though. Aside from Murphy, Reggie Lynch is a force to stop down low and Amir Coffey is a matchup nightmare as a 6’8 guard.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Just four or five years ago, you never would have believed that Miami and Minnesota would be two of the top teams in the nation, but Pitino and Jim Larranaga have these programs in a great spot.
That being said, Minnesota should be a decent favorite in this one due to home court advantage and the schedule it has faced thus far. Look for the Golden Gophers to get a nice win here.
College Basketball Odds: Minnesota 79, Miami 70
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