Dr. Bob
Opinion – Virginia (+1½) over MIAMI FLORIDA
The line on this game is fair but Miami applies to a negative 23-93-5 ATS situation that is based on their ugly 71-96 loss at North Carolina on Saturday. Virginia tends to play better in their more challenging games, as the Cavaliers are 23-3 ATS from -2 to underdog against ACC teams with a win percentage of greater than .667, including 10-0 ATS the last 3 seasons. Miami is tough at home so I’ll resist making this a Best Bet but I’ll lean with the Cavs and I’d take Virginia in a 1-Star Best Bet at +2 or more.
Hollywood Sports
Iowa St at West Virginia
Pick: Under
West Virginia (20-7) has played a decisive 8 of their last 9 games Under the Total on their home court. The Under is also 3-0-1 in the Mountaineers' last 4 games against teams with a winning record. Iowa State (19-8) has seen the Under go 3-0-1 in their last 4 games against teams with a winning record. Furthermore, the Under is 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings between these two teams. Expect these team trends to continue tonight.
OC Dooley
Miami-Florida -1.5
At most offshore locations this game opened at a virtual “pick em” so the fact the line has moved in the direction of the team with a “lower” national ranking to me speaks volumes. It has been a solid week since Virginia last took the court in a Big Monday 20 point home rout of an opponent (North Carolina State) that is way “down” in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Considering that both the Cavaliers and Hurricanes have identical overall records (21-5) Virginia is in for a much more difficult test this evening. I am aware that a few days ago Miami-Florida on the highway was trounced by a 91-76 final score but that was against an angry opponent (North Carolina Tarheels) who were coming off a bitter loss to rival Duke coughing up the contest in the waning minutes. One cannot underestimate the sheer importance of tonight’s ESPN national visibility for the Hurricanes who basically like identity even in local circles since 4 of their players actually are transfers. What the Hurricanes do have is veteran head coach Jim Larranaga who 10 years ago infamously led a small school (George Mason) into the NCAA Final Four