The Duke Blue Devils invade South Beach red hot having rattled off six straight wins and four covers against the closing college basketball odds since shockingly falling at home to Stephen F. Austin as decided home chalk at the end of November. The same can be said for the Miami Hurricanes who enter this crucial ACC home tilt winners of five straight while securing four pointspread covers since getting skunked on a neutral floor by the Florida Gators. Having already been curb stomped at home by the Louisville Cardinals; this is a spot the Canes must rise up in if they’re to be taken as serious ACC title contenders.
This ACC showdown will take place on Saturday, January 4, 2020. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m. ET from Watsco Center in Coral Gables, FL. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. So make sure to fill out your March Madness Bracket today!
CBB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
The Dookies remained undefeated in conference play last time out at home against Boston College whom they took out behind the woodshed and served up a severe 88-49 beating as near 22-point favorites. Matthew Hurt put forth the biggest showing of his freshman campaign with 25 points and 4 rebounds which included an impressive 5-of-10 showing from beyond the arc. After just coming up short of covering the lofty home chalk versus Brown, the pointspread cover moved the Blue Devils to 4-1 ATS over their last five and 8-5 ATS for the season. Coach K’s kids hit the road looking to improve upon their 3-0 SU and ATS marks as visitors.
The Hurricanes moved to 9-3 SU and 7-5 ATS for the season last time out on the road against the Clemson Tigers after pulling out the 73-68 overtime victory as 3-point underdogs. Leading scorer Chris Lykes erupted with a team-high 27 points on 63 percent shooting which included a 3-of-6 showing from downtown to help lead the Canes to the thrilling road win. The win was Coach Larranaga’s kids fifth straight since getting their lunch served up by the UConn Huskies at the end of November. Miami returns home where it will embark on navigating through a ruthless schedule in hopes of improving upon 5-1 SU and 3-3 ATS records as a host.
Matchup to Watch
Miami has shown an ability to fill the hoop up with basketballs evidenced by the offense tickling the twine for better than 75 points per game while checking in at No. 15 per the KenPom offensive efficiency ratings. The defense has however left much to be desired with it conceding over 71 points per game while ranking out No. 186 in efficiency. With that, it comes as no surprise to see the over cashing in eight of their 12 played games to date. Duke runs an extremely efficient offense itself (No. 8), so it comes to reason that Tre Jones and company won’t receive much in the way of resistance to run their offensive sets. For Miami to compete in this bout against an ACC heavyweight unlike it did against the Ville, it must clean the defensive glass. That could prove to be a tough chore considering the Blue Devils rank No. 4 in the country at hitting the offensive glass. Allowing the Dookies numerous second and third chance scoring opportunities will make it tough for the home team to cover the number.
Prediction
Duke has taken two straight and three of the last four from the Hurricanes both SU and ATS. Last year’s 87-57 trouncing in Durham should have the Canes determined to put forth a much better showing in the first of two scheduled regular season meetings. For that to occur, Miami must bring its offensive “A” game to the hardwood on Saturday night because the defense is going to have a terribly tough time keeping the Dookies offense under wraps. Though the under has cashed in four of the last five meetings, I’m expecting some points to hit the board in this one. Hopefully the O/U’s recent history has linemakers throwing a suppressed total on the board that can be taken advantage of.
College Basketball Pick: Duke 78, Miami 70
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