Miami vs Virginia Prediction and Betting Odds | ACC Basketball Dec 20

Miami vs Virginia Betting Preview

The Virginia Cavaliers will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season in a tricky spot against top-25 Miami. The Hurricanes are riding a seven-game win streak and are the only team sitting at 2-0 atop the ACC standings.

Miami vs Virginia Betting Odds

Miami vs Virginia Analysis

Tony Bennett’s No. 6-ranked Cavaliers are coming off their first loss of the season, a 69-61 defeat to No. 3 Houston on Saturday. There is certainly no shame in losing to the Cougars, but Coach Bennett would like to see a spark from his offense, which has sputtered in recent games. Reliable contributors Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman combined for just 13 points against Houston while shooting a joint 23-percent from the field. The Cavaliers only scored 55 against James Madison and USC Upstate scored more points against lowly Florida State than Virginia did in the prior week.

Only one spot separates the Cavaliers (No. 11) and Hurricanes (No. 12) in offensive efficiency, but they get the job done in vastly different ways. Virginia is No. 361 in adjusted tempo, averaging a tick over 61 possessions per game. The Cavaliers have been in the bottom-5 percentile in tempo each of the last seven seasons. Virginia is sixth in the country in assist rate this season after finishing 17th last year. Most of the Cavaliers’ shot attempts are set up via the pass and they are fantastic at getting to the free throw line. Virginia is shooting a hair over one free throw attempt for every two field goal attempts (No. 5).

Jim Larranaga has let his Hurricanes run a little bit more this season. Miami is in the top-half of the country in tempo, and they are generating most of their chances at the rim. Over 56-percent of Miami’s points are scored inside the arc, and they connect on 57-percent of their two-point shots (No. 20 in the country).

Isaiah Wong is averaging nearly 27 points per game in the Hurricanes’ last three contests, and he has scored in double figures in ten of their 12 games this year. Virginia’s Reece Beekman will draw the assignment on slowing him down and forcing him into the Cavaliers’ pack-line defense.

Miami vs Virginia Prediction

According to KenPom’s metrics, Virginia played the No. 35 out-of-conference schedule while Miami played the No. 222 non-conference slate. The offenses that Miami has played thus far have an average rank outside the top-300. In Miami’s toughest test to date, the Hurricanes lost by 18 to Maryland. We’ll be looking toward Virginia to get things back on track tonight with a win and point spread cover in Coral Gables.

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