College Basketball Picks & Predictions for Wednesday, March 23, 2011
By Anthony Rome
(The Spread) – The NIT offers a treat for college basketball fans tonight when two-seeded Miami clashes with top-seeded Alabama at 9:00PM ET.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made Alabama a 5.5-point favorite over Miami on Wednesday night. The over/under total for this game is currently 130 points.
The Hurricanes enter tonight’s game with a 21-14 overall record, which includes a 4-8 mark on the road. They’re averaging 71.9 points per game this season and 67.3 points again, while the under is 10-6 in their road games this season.
The Crimson Tide head into Wednesday’s contest with a 23-11 overall record, which includes a perfect 18-0 home mark. According to latest college basketball trends, the Tide is also 11-2-1 against the spread in all lined home games.
College Basketball Free Pick: Alabama’s 18-0 home record is a little intimidating, but this one should go down to the wire. The Crimson Tide have a terrific defense but Miami can shoot the ball on anyone thanks to Malcolm Grant, Durand Scott and three-point sharpshooter Adrian Thomas. The Canes have covered the spread in nine of their last 10 road games versus the SEC Conference and has also covered in 14 of their last 19 tournament games. Miami is 20-8 against the number in their last 28 non-conference games and is 4-0 ATS in its last four games overall. Because of Alabama’s perfect home record, I think the point spread is a tad higher than it should be and therefore, I find a little bit of value in Miami. But mostly, I just think this one will be tight throughout and the Canes may win outright.
WEDNESDAY COLLEGE BASKETBALL FREE PICK: MIAMI HURRICANES +5.5