The Hurricanes have fallen from the national rankings amidst a two-game losing streak, but are still in good shape to grab an NCAA Tournament berth.
Miami and Notre Dame play in a stacked ACC and have taken their lumps at time, but the Hurricanes have navigated it better than the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is in a bigger funk than the Hurricanes and is a longshot to make March Madness.
Both teams want to play well down the stretch and a win here is important for both sides. Miami is the better team but Notre Dame gets to play at home so this could be a competitive showdown.
At 7 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Monday, February 19, 2018, at the Joyce Center.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Monday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Miami is 18-6 straight up and 10-12 against the spread. The Hurricanes have covered in five of their nine attempts on the road this season. Miami has covered in three of its six games as the underdog this season and may have that designation against Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish is 15-11 straight up and 9-14 against the spread. Notre Dame has covered in four of six attempts at home this season. The Fighting Irish is 6-8 against the spread as the favorite on the year.
Key Stat
25. That was Miami’s national ranking as of last week, but with last weekend’s road loss to unranked Boston College the Hurricanes have now lost hold of that lost spot in the Top 25 and fallen out of the rankings completely.
The Eagles defeated the Hurricanes 72-70 in that matchup accounting for Miami’s fourth loss to an unranked team this season. The Hurricanes are still in line for a NCAA tournament berth, but will be focusing on a strong finish in these last six games to help the team build momentum on the way.
Miami started the season off with ten straight wins reaching as high as No. 6 in the national rankings before suffering its first loss to New México State on December 23rd. The Hurricanes hit a rough patch in early December, starting the month off 1-3 after losses to Georgia Tech, Clemson and Duke.
They won three straight before their recent loss to Boston College and will look to get back on track as they travel to Indiana this weekend.
Player To Watch
T.J. Gibbs – The sophomore has come on strong for the Fighting Irish this year. Since losing star forward and the team’s leading scorer Bonzie Colson to a broken foot in early January, the Notre Dame offense has been forced to find ways to win without him and it hasn’t been easy.
Still, despite the team’s struggles, Gibbs has been constant contributor. He is averaging 16 points a game this year, including 17.5 points a game in the six weeks since Colson has been sidelined.
Gibbs scored a career-high 27 points against Virginia Tech on January 27th and then surpassed that mark a few games later, finishing with 28 points in a win over Boston College. He was 8-of-11 from the field in that game against Boston College, including going 5-of-7 from three-point range.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Notre Dame is a better team than its record would suggest, but the loss of Colson is huge, and the team has not been able to recover. It will be interesting to see where the spread comes in once the oddsmakers set it.
Even though the Fighting Irish has the home court, Miami is the pick to grab this win.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Miami 74, Notre Dame 70
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
