The North Carolina Tar Heels had some trouble earlier this season but are playing well as the schedule winds down. They have won six consecutive games and will be favored once again next time out when they host the Miami Hurricanes.
Miami is in good shape to make March Madness and could improve their seeding with an upset victory in this matchup. North Carolina has moved into the top-10 nationally with its recent standout play and would love to grab a high seed for the tourney.
The Tar Heels are the better team and have the home court advantage so they could be a considerable favorite in this matchup.
At 9 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Tuesday, February 27, 2018, at the Dean E. Smith Center.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Tuesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Miami is 20-8 straight up and 11-15 against the spread. The Hurricanes have covered in six of their 10 games on the road this season. Miami has gone 4-4 against the spread as the underdog on the season.
North Carolina is 22-7 straight up and 16-11-1 against the spread. The Tar Heels have done a great job at home on the season, covering in 10 of their 13 games. North Carolina is 15-9 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
Injury Report
Miami sophomore guard Bruce Brown, Jr. won’t play in this one and is going to miss the conference tournament with a foot injury. He is hoping to make it back for the NCAA Tournament but that seems to be in peril at this point.
Brown is averaging 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the season. He is shooting 41.5 percent on the season and is the team’s third-leading scorer. Brown is leading the team in minutes played and is a key cog, so his absence is a big one.
Player To Watch
Luke Maye —The North Carolina junior forward has blossomed in his third year with the Tar Heels. After playing sparingly as a freshman and finding a part-time role last year, Maye is now the leading scorer for North Carolina.
He is averaging 18.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He is shooting 51.3 percent from the field and an impressive 46.7 percent from three-point range. Maye had 33 points and 17 rebounds in a recent win over North Carolina State.
While he only had nine points and three rebounds last time out, Maye should be a big-time threat in this one.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
North Carolina has always had plenty of talent and is now clicking on all cylinders. The Tar Heels knocked off Duke in the midst of this winning streak as well as some other solid competition. Miami is a good team that has the capability to hang around, but it’s really tough to see a scenario in which the Hurricanes win this game.
Miami is 1-3 against ranked teams this season and chances are it it going to drop the fourth of five. Take North Carolina to win this game as its combination of size and skill should be enough to pull away late. North Carolina could be the right choice to cover if the spread comes in at a reasonable number.
The “over” is a good choice as the Tar Heels should be able to push the pace in this matchup.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: North Carolina 82, Miami 72
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