Written by Rohit Ghosh
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Miami vs UNC | March 9, 9:00 AM PT on ESPN
No. 9 Miami got a nice win over Syracuse Wednesday morning to advance to the next round of the ACC Tournament and match up with No. 1 seed North Carolina. UNC opened as a 7.5-to-8-point favorite, with the total set at 140.
Miami had a nice performance on the boards against Syracuse, winning the offensive rebound battle 9-4. In a game that was decided by just five points (62-57), each extra possession makes that much more of an impact on the final results.
UNC is dominant on the glass, but potentially the one time they struggled rebounding the ball was back in January vs Miami. UNC lost that game 77-62 down in Coral Gables with Miami's zone defense proving to be a nightmare for Roy Williams' offense.
Betting Trends
• Miami is 1-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last 6 Thursday games.
• Miami is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 neutral site games.
• UNC is 19-7-2 ATS in its last 28 neutral site games.
• UNC is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six games overall.
• The UNDER is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings between these two teams.
Analyst's Pick:
Keep an eye on UNC's Theo Pinson. He didn't play in the team's last matchup against Miami and should make enough of a difference to change the outcome. UNC wins, and covers the 8-point spread. Miami will have tired legs on the back-to-back.
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Duke vs Louisville | March 9, 11:00 AM PT on ESPN
Louisville could really benefit from a big-time neutral-court win late in the season as they head into Thursday's matchup with Duke. The Cards will look to bolster their Big Dance resume with a convincing victory over the Blue Devils. Vegas opened the line with Louisville favored by 1 point and the total yet to be set, at the time of publication.
Duke came up short in the regular season matchup between these two sides, giving up 21 three-pointers as four different Louisville players scored in double figures.
Betting Trends
• Duke is 4-16-2 ATS in its last 22 games following an ATS win.
• Duke is 1-4-1 ATS in its last six games overall.
• Duke is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 neutral site games.
• Louisville is 4-0 ATS in its last 4 Thursday games.
• Louisville is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games following an ATS loss.
• Louisville is 29-13 ATS in their last 42 neutral site games.
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Analyst's Pick:
It really comes down to which Duke team shows up Thursday. Injuries and other distractions have made Coach K's team uncharacteristically inconsistent this season. If their outside shots are going in early, they're close to unbeatable; if they're not connecting, the Blue Devils have been easily pushed around.
Louisville's the better defensive team, holding opponents to approximately 39 percent shooting from the field. The Cards win.
Chicago State vs New Mexico State | March 9, 4:30 PM PT
These kinds of games always catch our attention because of the absurd spreads. The Cougars from Chicago State just aren't that good and they head into Thursday's matchup as a 19.5-to-20-point underdog.
It's tournament season, so no team should lose by that much, right? Not so fast.
Chicago State's only conference win came all the way back in January vs Utah Valley. They've lost 10 games in a row and don't look equipped to put up much of a fight Thursday. New Mexico State has two wins over Chicago State already this season, by 16 and 35 points each, respectively.
New Mexico St. is 6-0 straight up (SU) against Chicago St. over the last three seasons.
Analyst's Pick:
It's tough to give up this many points, but New Mexico should cruise to a 20-plus point victory.