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The No. 13-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (12-3) look to extend their 10-game home winning streak in a matchup against the No. 8-ranked Miami (FL) Hurricanes (13-1). The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Cavaliers lost to Georgia Tech 68-64 on Saturday. London Perrantes was the top performer for the Cavaliers, contributing 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists. The Hurricanes are coming off a 72-59 win over Florida State on Saturday. Sheldon McClellan shot 7 for 11 and led in scoring with 21 points.
The game should be a matchup of strength against strength, as the prolific offense of Virginia (11th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 120.4) takes on the stingy defense of Miami (FL) (23rd in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 93.3).
Virginia is a five-point favorite against Miami (FL) and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 134 points. The Cavaliers have gone 12-3 Straight Up (SU) and 6-7 Against The Spread (ATS). Virginia is excellent from the perimeter, shooting a superb .400 from three-point range. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Virginia, which ranks 10th at 1.66.
Over on the other bench, the Hurricanes head into the game with records of 10-3 ATS and 13-1 SU. Miami (FL) performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 7-3 record. The Hurricanes are shooting lights out so far, with a .497 field-goal percentage that ranks 15th in Division I. Moving on to the Miami (FL) defense, the Hurricanes allow just 64.8 points per game, ranking them 42nd in the nation. The Miami (FL) defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 6.0 field goals from three-point range per game. Don’t expect Miami (FL) to give away the ball much on offense, where its 11.4 turnovers per game ranks 44th in the country.
Virginia and Miami (FL) will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Virginia came out on top, but Miami (FL) still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 6-4 SU. However, Virginia holds the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Virginia and Miami (FL) each held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last five meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mia-Fl, ATS Winner – Mia-Fl, O/U – Under
Notes
Virginia is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
Virginia is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Virginia’s last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Virginia’s last 6 games at home.
Virginia is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Miami.
Virginia scores an average of just 74.4 points per game (ranked 165th). Miami (FL) ranks 42nd in points allowed, giving up 64.8 points per game.
Virginia scores just 77.0 points per home game (ranked 190th). Miami (FL) ranks 20th in points allowed on the road, giving up 66.5 points.
The Virginia Cavaliers rank 11th for their offensive rating of 120.4. The Miami (FL) Hurricanes have a defensive rating of 93.3 (ranked 23rd).
The Miami (FL) Hurricanes average 69.1 possessions per game and 1.198 points per possession. The Virginia Cavaliers earn fewer possessions with 61.8, but they score more points with 1.204.
Miami (FL) has an average effective field goal percentage of 56.3%, ranked 17th in the nation. Virginia is undefeated (2-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Virginia ranks 98th in assists, registering 14.9 per game. Miami (FL) performs worse at 161st with 13.8 assists per game.
Miami (FL), the 95th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.7 rebounds per game. Virginia does worse, ranked 307th with 33.4.
On average, Virginia makes 5.7 steals per game. Miami (FL) has a stellar 9-1 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
