NCAA Basketball Matchup: Tigers vs Hurricanes
Memphis had a disappointing regular season last year, but they finished strong and nearly knocked off Arizona in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA Basketball Matchup: Memphis Tigers vs. Miami Hurricanes
9:00 PM EST
College Basketball Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
NCAA Basketball Betting Favorite: Miami -2
Over/Under: 143
Miami has a new coach in Jim Larranaga this season. The Hurricanes are looking to get back into the NCAA Tournament this year. Both teams enter this game with two losses.
It should be a good one in south Florida tonight.
Memphis has a ton of talent all over the floor. Last year’s fabulous class of freshman is now one year more mature, and the team has much higher expectations. This will be the team’s true road game of the season. Memphis has shown flashes of brilliance this year, but they have also shown that they have some clear weaknesses.
The Tigers have been outrebounded in five of their six games this year.
Tarik Black is a great interior presence, but he has been in foul trouble far too often this season. Black may be the most important player to the team, but he is only averaging 19 minutes per game.
Will Barton and Joe Jackson form one of the most athletic backcourts in the nation. The Tigers are averaging 84 points per contest. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Miami is 5-0 at home this year, and they’ll look to run that record to 6-0 tonight.
Larranaga has helped this team become better on the defensive end of the floor. The Hurricanes are allowing just 63 points per game in 2011. Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott are both extremely talented guards, but they must start taking better shots.
Grant is shooting 38% from the floor, and Scott is shooting a miserable 29.7% from the field. The team really misses the presence of Reggie Johnson on the inside. The Hurricanes will likely try to slow this game down a bit.
If Tarik Black stays out of foul trouble, he can do a lot of damage in this game.
Memphis is the more talented team, and I’ll take them to win here.
Prediction: Memphis 74 Miami 70
